Air charters to kickstart tourism

EVER since the movement control order was implemented on March 18, tourism industry players and associations have been making repeated calls on federal and state governments for emergency aid and temporary relief during this period with little to no income.

There have also been announcements about putting hygiene, safety and security protocols in place and calls to publicise Malaysia as a safe destination. But many countries are doing the same and at this time, tourists would choose destinations that offer more meaningful experiences. It would be a waste of time and money to repackage old wine in a new bottle, ie promote the same old products. Clearly, the days of mass tourism are over, and likewise mass advertising. It is now crucial to target and create niche markets and for industry players to consolidate.

Malaysian outbound and inbound tour operators must work together with their overseas counterparts to generate a constant flow of passengers for air charters, starting with only one weekly flight, then progressing daily and ending with many flights a day.

Unlike scheduled flights that passengers can travel on at short notice, those booked for charter flights could be screened in advance and their health condition and movements constantly and closely monitored to ensure they will be free of Covid-19 when travelling overseas.

Before departure, these passengers may have to be quarantined at a selected hotel and then transferred to the aircraft in chartered buses with minimum contact with other people. The hotel, bus and aircraft would have be thoroughly disinfected, of course.

Such a controlled group would be welcomed by many governments around the world as economies everywhere are at an all-time low and need tourist dollars more than ever even while countries remain fearful of opening borders and risking a second wave of Covid-19 infections.

It would be most viable to start with charter flights to and from Indonesia and China, as people from these two countries are the second and third largest number of foreign visitors to Malaysia after Singaporeans. The countries are also highly popular with Malaysian tourists travelling overseas.

As almost every industry and citizen are affected by this pandemic and funding is limited and never enough for everyone, the only longterm solution is to generate revenue, particularly foreign exchange. So instead of merely offering promotions and waiting for foreigners to come to us when borders are open, tourist arrivals can be speeded up by trying these air charters.

And it is time for leading industry players and leaders to rise to the challenge by several notches by consolidating and gearing the industry to operate charter flights in a big way. It can be made popular with initial promotional offers which would fill up the aircraft. This is crucial for inbound tour operators as almost every passenger would be using their service, unlike the millions of foreigners that used to visit Malaysia monthly prior to the Covid-19 outbreak that were independent travellers.

Instead of merely offering promotions and waiting for foreigners to come to us when borders are open, tourist arrivals can be speeded up by trying air charters.