Stakeholders push Malaysia reopening borders to vaccinate travellers
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Various stakeholders have called the federal government to come up with a proper plan for Malaysia reopening to vaccinate travellers.
Bukit Gasing assemblyman Rajiv Rishyakaran suggested for the federal government to open the country’s borders to tourists and business travellers who have received the vaccine.
Malaysian Association of Hotels president N Subramaniam and Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (Matta) president Tan Kok Liang have expressed their support for the proposal. They also called for a concrete plan for the reopening as soon as possible.
In a report by Free Malaysia Today, Subramaniam said that the country must establish a “special pass” system for inoculated travellers. He added that the tourism industry’s frontliners must be vaccinated before they begin to accommodate foreign tourists.
Airlines have been urged to provide refunds for cancelled flights due to Covid-19 restrictions. - AZHAR MAHFOF/The Star Offering full refunds for cancelled flight tickets should be a convention among airlines, says the Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (Matta). It is a matter of principle to provide refunds for cancelled air tickets as most services are still not rendered due to the extraordinary situation, ” said Matta vice president (Air Transportation) Shazli Affuat Ghazali.
He was commenting on the recent demand made by the Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom) for airlines to issue full refunds on flight tickets cancelled because of Covid-19 restrictions.
Prioritise Malaysian tourism workers for Covid-19 vaccine, say stakeholders thestar.com.my - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from thestar.com.my Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
MELAKA: Close to 50% of tourism players in the historic state have wound up, based on the number of membership renewals with the Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA) for this year.
MATTA Melaka Chapter chairman Goh Hock Gin said only about 40 of 80 tourism players had renewed their memberships for 2021, indicating that half the industry is no longer in business.
“This is a sad state of affairs for the tourism industry and we need the state government to look into our plight, ” he said in an interview on Monday (Feb 22).
Goh said most of those still active had also not resumed operations because interstate and interdistrict travel are still not allowed during the conditional movement control order.
/ Posted on 22 February, 2021 13:39
Malaysia’s National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme will kick off on February 24, two days ahead of schedule to drive the country’s economic recovery.
The first phase that runs up to April will inoculate frontliners, which could include teachers. The second phase, from April to August, is reserved for high-risk groups while the third phase, scheduled to start in May, are for the general public, aged 18 and above.
Malaysia will begin its national vaccination programme this Wednesday, ahead of schedule
By 1Q2022, an estimated 27 million Malaysians representing 80 per cent of the population, would have received their shots.
Tourism players say the national vaccination rollout spells a new beginning but the process of tourism recovery will be a drawn out one.