KUALA LUMPUR: Several days into the relaxation of restrictions in the social sector for states under Phase 2 of the National Recovery Plan, people are still cautious in resuming tourism activities due to the high number of Covid-19 cases.
Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH) chief executive officer Yap Lip Seng said although there had been an increase in the number of advanced bookings for rooms, the general sentiment from local travellers was underwhelming.
He said this could be due to the high number of Covid-19 cases recorded recently.
"We believe the public are still being cautious. The industry is also reliant on the main source market involving travellers from Kuala Lumpur and Selangor, which at the moment is still restricted in Phase 1 of the National Recovery Plan (NRP)," he said when contacted today.
Malaysia Budget Hotel Association (Mybha) president Emmy Suraya Hussein said travellers from the Klang Valley hold the purchasing power to drive the tourism industry in the country to recover.
She also expressed concern over the increasing number of cases at present.
"We do not know when Kuala Lumpur and Selangor can move on to Phase 2 of NRP. Our hope is to have four million population (from the Klang Valley) going out for holidays to other states in order for the industry to recover," she said.
With only hotels and homestay in states under Phase 2 of the NRP allowed to resume operations, she said this represents only 10 per cent of the industry players with hope for recovery.
Malaysia Association of Tour and Travel Agents (Matta) president Datuk Tan Kok Liang said he had high hopes for domestic tourism to recover following the lifting of the inter-district travel ban.
He said, with domestic travel having proven the ability to sustain industry players' businesses last year, the government should have a clear roadmap in steering the sector forward.
"The tourism industry had just started to pick up the paces when the ban on interstate and inter-district travel was lifted temporarily in late 2020.
"At the time, it was proven that domestic travel could serve as a lifeline for tourism players to sustain their businesses.
"However, with the current spike in Covid-19 cases and with more virulent variants detected, it is best if the government could come up with a more detailed roadmap for the industry players such as establishing a safe and secure travel corridors in these states (under Phase 2 and above) for domestic travellers," he said.
The travel corridors, said Tan, could mirror the green travel bubble introduced by the government in 2020.
He also suggested for the corridors to be created for business, social and leisure travellers.
"Previously, these travellers were allowed to plan their travels. But this time around, they should appoint a travel agent, plan an itinerary and adhere to it strictly.
"This includes those from the same state and are traveling inter-district, so that we can keep track of their movements and have everything on record.
"This arrangement is safer, as the agent will do the groundwork for their visits to ensure that the travellers and operators of the tourism activities are fully vaccinated," he said.
Effective Aug 10, fully vaccinated individuals who reside in states under Phase Two and above of the NRP can enjoy several privileges as the government had agreed to ease the restrictions in the social sector.
Among the restrictions lifted were the ban on dine-in at eateries, inter-district travel, sports and recreational activities without physical contact, as well as tourism activities within the same state involving homestays and hotels.