Malaysia needs to take steps for welcoming foreign travelers

Monday, February 7, 2022

Malaysia needs to take steps for welcoming foreign travelers or it stands the risk of losing out to other countries.

Malaysian Inbound Tourism Association (MITA) president UzaidiUdanis suggested that Malaysia needs to look at other countries’ best practices, which had successfully turned the tide in spite of the pandemic, like the Maldives that received one million foreign visitors last year and had 34 airlines operating with direct flights into the island.

Udanissaid, “It’s about time Malaysia reopens its borders. Malaysia has to take measures soon so that we will not be left behind, as neighbouring countries including Thailand have already made their move to welcome foreign tourists.We could relax the restrictions, but cautiously, to keep the virus at bay by imposing conditions on travellers including ensuring that they are fully vaccinated before entering the country.”

Udanissaid that they are currently depending a lot on the domestic market to stay alive, but are unable to optimize it, mentioning online hotel bookings via global websites and unexplored tourism potentials.

He said that easing of Covid-19 restrictions had people celebrating the Chinese New Year in the new normal after not being able to do so during the early days of the pandemic, thereby upholding the idea of living with the virus.

This, he said, was supported by the fact that Malaysia had one of the highest vaccination rates in the world, as part of its measures to defend the community from infections.

Udanissaid that the government should also evaluate the strict conditions imposed on foreign travelers if it decides to reopen the borders.

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