Risk of ‘economic pandemic’

Tourism industry calls for a more pragmatic govt approach

PETALING JAYA: The tourism industry is asking for a dialogue with the relevant authorities, saying that the industry is facing an “economic pandemic”.

Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA) president Datuk Tan Kok Liang said feedback from the private sector was necessary in balancing economic activities, including travel, and ensuring that health and safety issues were addressed.

“At the moment, the standard operating procedure is implemented from the ‘top down’.

“The tourism industry should not be ‘victims’ of continuous travel restrictions, such as curbing interstate travel. A more pragmatic and holistic framework needs to be established,” he said.

Tan said although there were movement restrictions and travel bans in place, the number of cases has kept going up and down.

“Why not relook the approach? Life should go on, but we haven’t had business for the past 13 months,” he said, adding that the existence of the green travel bubble has had a minimal impact on the industry.

Under the travel bubble programme, people from green zones can travel to other zones marked as green.

Malaysian Tourism Council president and Malaysian Inbound Tourism chief executive Uzaidi Udanis said they were trying to keep their spirits up by promoting the country to outsiders.

“Sooner or later, we have to open up the international borders. We will have to learn to live with the virus. We can’t live in isolation,” he said, describing the fluctuating number of cases as a “yo-yo”.

He said they were trying to promote domestic tourism, such as the “Pusing Selangor Dulu” campaign that encouraged residents of the state to visit places in their own backyard.

The green travel bubble, said Uzaidi, was beneficial to travel agents as it helped to utilise their assets such as buses.

“It’s not really a boom but it keeps us busy and moving. People want to travel,” he said, adding however that the main market source was Klang Valley residents, who were now not allowed to cross state borders.

“We hope to propose to the government a very strict SOP compliance that allows interstate travel, for example, from Selangor to Pahang or from Selangor to Langkawi,” he said.

Uzaidi added that there needed to be a balance between health and the economy.

“It’s not only a Covid-19 pandemic but an economic pandemic as well. We are facing a tough time.

“We understand the government’s concerns, but we depend on people’s movement,” he said.