malaysia tourism news 2022

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Tourism Malaysia Launches Tourism Recovery Plan 2022 To Boost Domestic Tourism

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For Malaysian tourism, decision on borders an anxious wait

The Southeast Asian country has yet to decide on reopening its borders after floating plans earlier this month.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – More than two weeks after Malaysia proposed reopening its borders, the country’s tourism sector is anxiously awaiting a decision by the government to draw a line under two years of pandemic uncertainty and pain.

For award-winning travel agency Apple Vacations Sdn Bhd, business has been at a standstill since the borders closed in response to the emergence of the coronavirus in March 2020.

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Group managing director Koh Yock Heng, better known as Kohsan, said sales had dropped 99 percent, with domestic tourism offering little respite for the outbound travel company.

“Our vaccination rates have shown improvements but with the sudden Omicron surge, the authorities will have to carefully study because it is important for us to be able to enter a new phase of living where we can start opening up the market with safe management measures in place,” Kohsan told Al Jazeera.

Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin told reporters last week that borders were realistically only likely to reopen in the second quarter of the year, with the ministry preparing standard operating procedures (SOP) for lifting restrictions in the coming weeks.

The remarks came after a government advisory council chaired by former Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin on February 8 proposed the resumption of quarantine-free arrival for international tourists as soon as March 1.

Although hoteliers and tour operators welcomed the proposal, it received pushback from some politicians and public health experts concerned about the country’s surging Omicron wave.

Before a final decision is made, the SOP will be presented to the COVID-19 pandemic management committee chaired by Prime Minister Ismail Sabri and other relevant ministries, including the foreign ministry.

‘Negative economic effects’

Ming Luk Tan, head of Malaysia and Singapore business at OYO Hotels and Homes, said the industry had taken note of the fact that customers were prioritising safety, opting for stays in places with good ventilation and hygiene.

“While every country has to balance the economic need to welcome international travellers, there is nevertheless room to take caution and gradual approach through implementations of air bridges and travel bubbles rather than opening up the entire country all at once,” Ming told Al Jazeera, adding that his group’s revenues had plunged 60 percent during the pandemic.

Ming said it was questionable whether travel bans had much positive effect on public health at this point in the pandemic.

“While the negative economic effects of the interventions can be measured through financial performance indicators, the societal benefit of restricting international travel however has not been quantified,” he said.

However, Lim Chee Han, a public health expert and researcher with the Agora Society Malaysia, said authorities should consider maintaining quarantine measures to help control the virus.

“The government can review and revise this order after the Omicron-led pandemic wave has come down,” Lim told Al Jazeera, predicting that the surge would subside by May.

“The latest genome sequencing data reported until 28 January shows that 90.7 percent of Omicron variant cases found in Malaysia were imported,” Lim added, while noting that authorities only tested about 1,200 samples each month.

In the last week, authorities have reported an average of about 26,000 cases each day, with infections rising steeply.

Some European countries, including Denmark and the United Kingdom, have lifted practically all COVID-19 restrictions in recent weeks despite record caseloads. Currently, only Malaysians, permanent residents and a selected number of visa holders may enter the country, subject to strict testing and quarantine policies.

Malaysia’s Langkawi travel bubble has been an exception, while on February 16, the Malaysia-Singapore Vaccinated Travel Lane resumed with immediate effect. Talks are under way for travel lanes with Thailand and Indonesia.

Tourism is one of the driving forces of the Malaysian economy, with 26.1 million tourist arrivals in 2019 contributing RM86.1 billion ($20.6bn) in tourism receipts, according to the Department of Statistics. In 2019, tourism employed 3.6 million people, accounting for 23.6 per cent of total employment in the country. In the same year, the sector accounted for 15.9 percent of gross domestic product.

The Southeast Asian country received just 4.3 million tourists in 2020, an 83.4 percent decline from the previous year.

As the sector waits for the return of international visitors, some larger hotels and serviced residences like The Ascott Limited have refocused on the domestic market.

Country general manager Mondi Mecja said the group stayed afloat through its long-stay customer base and saw a significant rebound in business when the Malaysian government lifted its interstate travel bans in October last year.

“I think a lot of people will still be cautious about travelling especially when it comes to jumping on an aeroplane,” Mecja told Al Jazeera.

“We are still bound to domestic travel, or ‘Cuti-Cuti Malaysia’ or ‘Holiday in Malaysia,’ this year but with the opening of four new premises this year, we can expect a better recovery than originally forecasted.”

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Follow our news, recent searches, malaysia received more than 1 million tourists since border reopening on apr 1, advertisement.

People wait before crossing a road in front of a shopping mall in Kuala Lumpur on Jun 2, 2022. (Photo: AFP/Mohd RASFAN)

SHAH ALAM: Malaysia has received more than 1 million tourists since its border reopening on Apr 1 , said Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Nancy Shukri on Saturday (Jun 4).

That’s more than half of the government’s target of having 2 million international tourists this year.

A large proportion of the tourists was from Singapore, said Mdm Nancy, adding that Malaysia is also expecting many visitors from Japan, South Korea and Iran.

“In the past two months, we have received around 600,000 tourists from Singapore,” the minister said after an event by Firefly Airlines. 

“There are tourists for other countries as well but we are unable to provide accurate numbers as we are still waiting for feedback from the respective parties but suffice to say, we have achieved more than half of what we've targeted.”

Mdm Nancy said travellers are keen to visit Malaysia due to the eased COVID-19 rules. 

“People like our SOP because there's no mandatory quarantines, COVID-19 screening tests and insurance, and it's up to tourists to do so,” she added. 

Mdm Nancy noted, however, that Malaysia’s tourism industry is facing a shortage of workers amid the recovery.

Malaysia transitioned to the endemic phase of living with COVID-19 on Apr 1, lifting several restrictions and reopening borders. 

The tourism minister previously said that to achieve the country’s target of 2 million tourists , there are various strategies such as focusing on meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE).

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Tourism Malaysia launches new strategic and marketing plan for 2022-2026

Tourism Malaysia launched its Strategic & Marketing Plan for 2022-2026, a new organizational strategy set out for the next five years to boost the tourism industry - a timely move to bounce back with the full reopening of Malaysian borders starting 1 April 2022. The plan launched by  Dato’ Sri Hajah Nancy Shukri , Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture Malaysia today, focuses on domestic tourism promotion as well as international tourism recovery, with greater emphasis on digital adoption, innovation, health and safety. The six pillars of the strategic plan include:

• Boost domestic tourism
• Forge smart partnerships;
• Enhance tourism promotion (online/offline);
• Optimise strategic communication and media engagement;
• Implement travel bubble, and
• Undertake strategic transformation.

Meanwhile, the new approach in marketing strategy, among others, outlines a priority in creative and digital marketing, enhancing mix promotion, shifting to emotional and sentiment-based promotions, moving to customized markets, and strengthening the brand.

Tourism Malaysia Strategic & Marketing Plan was developed based on National Tourism Policy 2020-2030, National Ecotourism Plan 2016-2025, National Cultural Policy (DAKEN) 2021 and   UNWTO   Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The strategies are also formulated on market trends and sentiments, secondary data research as well as input from stakeholders and industry players.

As domestic tourism continues to drive the recovery, Malaysia is also gearing up to welcome international travellers by targeting to attract 2 million tourist arrivals with a contribution of RM8.6 billion this year. Dato’ Sri Hajah Nancy said: “ With the widespread vaccination roll-out, lifting of travel restrictions, good coordination and information on travel protocols, it is hoped that it will speed up the recovery of international tourism.

“We are anticipating the return of international tourists, especially from the neighbouring countries as well as medium and long-haul markets, with medical and business travel is expected to regain momentum ,” said Nancy.

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In FITUR 2022, Tourism Malaysia initiates its promotion

Monday, January 24, 2022 Favorite

In Europe recently, Tourism Malaysia opens out its promotional calendar by taking part at the International Tourism Trade Fair (FITUR 2022) at IFEMA MADRID, Spain, with the aim to encourage international tourists back once again, especially from the long-haul markets.

The 42nd edition of FITUR 2022 highlights the 20-year milestone of the participation of Malaysia in this major trade fair for inbound and outbound markets in the Iberian Peninsula and the entryway to Latin America. Mr. Noor Azlan Abu Bakar, Senior Deputy Director of International Promotions Division (America, Europe & Oceania), Tourism Malaysia, lead the Malaysian delegation at FITUR 2022.

From 19 to 23 January 2022, highlights of the promotion in this five-day fair are the Langkawi International Tourism Bubble as well as sustainable tourism destinations to keep on promoting public awareness and give confidence to the trade visitors to look for new things in Malaysia. Joining Tourism Malaysia at the Malaysian Pavilion is Tourism Selangor and three tour operators from the Asian Trails, Exo Travel and Vive Malasia.

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