Reunions aiding tourism, economy

KUALA LUMPUR: After not seeing her family for over two years, Malaysian Josil Murray was excited to be coming home yesterday.

The 38-year-old has not been able to return to Malaysia ever since Covid-19 necessitated the tightening of borders in March 2020, a policy that has been in effect till April 1 this year.

Living in Bangkok and working for a United Nations regional office, she and her husband used to travel to Malaysia frequently until Covid-19 put a stop to that. With the official reopening of borders, she, her British husband and their daughter can finally reenter the country with minimal requirements as she and her husband are fully vaccinated.

As non-Malaysians without a family visa or permanent residency, her husband and daughter could not previously enter Malaysia without special permission on top of other restrictions, including testing and quarantine.

“It’s very emotional for us to go back to Malaysia. We’re very excited,” she told Bernama via Zoom.

Once in Malaysia, she plans to introduce her 18-month-old baby to her widowed mother, her brother and relatives, before taking advantage of the Ramadan bazaars.

Josil is among possibly hundreds of thousands of overseas Malaysians and non-Malaysians who had not been able to visit their loved ones due to pandemic restrictions. Many of them are now expected to take advantage of the reopening of borders to reunite with their families, according to news reports and social media posts.

“At this point, we’re seeing a lot more reunions, we’re seeing a lot more people travelling for that specific purpose,” confirmed Nigel Wong Chun Teim, a spokesman for the Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA).

He, however, added it was too soon to see any improvement in the tourism industry just yet.

Hesitance

The government has touted the reopening as a move to save the tourism industry and improve the nation’s economy, targeting two million international tourist arrivals and RM8.6 billion tourist receipts this year.

“The industry is excited to welcome visitors again as tourism activities have been quiet for the past two years,” Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri said at a press conference at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport on April 1.

As of April 3, almost 65,000 international travellers had passed through all airports since the reopening, according to Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd. Although the number of travellers has increased, it is unlikely to reach pre-pandemic levels for now.

For one thing, the restrictions, while minimal, may still be too much for some. Others may be held up by restrictions in their resident country.

Some also prefer to wait and see, giving Malaysia time to iron out any kinks in the new procedures.

“I definitely plan to travel soon but I want to see if there are any hiccups first,” said Sumita Palanisamy, a Malaysian living in India where she runs her own biotech business.

Wong said although MATTA members have been fielding more queries about travelling in Malaysia since the government announced the reopening of Malaysian borders, arrivals for tourism purposes are still muted.

He said many people are still hesitant due to Covid-19, which infected an average of 13,890 people daily in Malaysia over the past week.

“In a way, it’s good to be hesitant, you know. It’s not a bad development. Things are opening up but it’s not a free fall,” he said, adding that the association expects to see more travellers in the next six months.

Health experts have warned to not assume that reopening meant the pandemic is over, asking the public to remain vigilant and adhere to health guidelines.

“There is a false pretence that the pandemic is over and the virus cannot do much harm anymore to everyone,” said Dr Vinod Balasubramaniam, a virologist at Monash University-Malaysia.

He stressed the importance of masking everywhere, especially indoors.

Since April 1, as part of its transition to the endemic phase, Malaysia has reduced health restrictions, such as removing the quarantine requirements for fully-vaccinated travellers. They are now required to take a PCR test two days before departure and a professionally-conducted rapid test within 24 hours of arrival. Face masks are still required.

Domestic demand

News reports and social media have been full of stories of overseas Malaysians and non-Malaysians excited at the prospect of reuniting with their loved ones. According to the United Nations, the number of Malaysians living overseas is estimated at 1.7 million, part of the ‘brain drain’ trend.

However, Wong said just because many are planning to see their relatives in Malaysia did not necessarily mean they would contribute much to the tourism industry.

He said although the domestic demand has improved since the lockdown was lifted, he was hesitant to say that reunions are driving domestic tourism.

“In terms of booking, it’s mostly domestic travel driving the sector. (But) we can’t really say it’s because people are coming back in and wanting to travel,” he said.

He added the industry would be able to see a trend forming within the next two months, especially after the MATTA Fair on April 9 and 10.

Although it may be too soon to see any improvements in the tourism industry just yet, their contribution to the local economy is starting to be felt. News reports and social media posts indicate that many plan to stay and explore Malaysia once they are in the country, benefitting the local economy if not tourism per se. Businesses along the Malaysia-Singapore border have already reported an uptick in sales.

Sumita, who is the co-founder and chief operating officer of Cygen Group, told Bernama she was excited to see her parents and siblings after not seeing them for over a year.

“I used to travel a lot for work and then Covid-19 happened,” she said. Although she was single, she found travelling onerous as she would have to quarantine for about a week in Malaysia previously.

Like many others with loved ones in Malaysia, she plans to continue her vacation by visiting popular holiday spots such as Penang and Langkawi.

As for Josil and her family, they plan to take full advantage of the 10 days they are spending in Malaysia – making the rounds at Ramadan bazaars and having picnics outdoors with their family.

“We’re really looking forward to coming back to Malaysia. We miss everything! We miss the food ... we can’t wait to go and eat breakfast at the Mamak (restaurant),” she said, laughing.