“I urge all industry players not to neglect domestic tourists when the pandemic is over,” he told reporters after the opening ceremony of the world’s largest tourism trade fair Internationale Tourismus-Borse Berlin, also known as ITB Berlin.
Zulkifly said efforts to promote domestic tourism should not only occur during a crisis period, such as the Covid-19 pandemic.
“For Malaysia, domestic tourism has always been the saviour for the industry whenever the country was in a crisis. International tourism would be halted during a crisis but domestic tourism would continue and actually provide revenue for the country,” he added.
According to Zulkifly, the travel industry is just waiting for interstate travel restrictions to be lifted, as they are ready to offer more travel packages to promote domestic tourism.
His comments coincide with the announcement by the National Security Council today that interstate travel is allowed between areas under the recovery movement control order (RMCO) but strictly for tourism activity only.
Senior minister for security Ismail Sabri Yaakob said travel agents must get permission from the police to cross the states and that registered tour bus companies must also obtain approval from the police.
“This is so that each passenger need not apply for police permission,” he added.
States and federal territories under the RMCO are Melaka, Pahang, Terengganu, Sabah, Putrajaya, Labuan and Perlis.
Meanwhile, after officiating the ITB Berlin opening ceremony today, tourism, arts and culture minister Nancy Shukri said the government is still having discussions with neighbouring countries to explore travel bubble arrangements.
“At the moment, we are discussing an agreement with Indonesia on a Reciprocal Green Lane/Travel Corridor Arrangement between both countries, aimed at revitalising the tourism and culture industry through business travellers,” she said through a live telecast from Kuching, Sarawak.
Nancy added that the government was still looking at issuing Covid-19 vaccine passports for those who have been vaccinated, similar to the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) initiative to launch the IATA Travel Pass, a global and standardised digital passport that will allow people to travel without restriction and serve as a solution for the aviation sector.
This year, ITB Berlin takes on a completely virtual journey throughout the three-day event that ends on Friday.
Participating for the 48th time, Malaysia is joined by 30 Malaysian organisations, consisting of 10 tour operators, 10 hotels and resorts, seven state tourism boards, and three tourism associations.
Taking full advantage of the virtual experience, Malaysia will also have a “virtual cafe” for the first time called Malaysia Truly Asia Cafe Corner that will highlight Malaysia’s niche products, such as specialised scuba diving for the disabled, birdwatching, and medical tourism, among others.