Under an aggressive plan by the tourism, arts, and culture ministry (Motac), the island could open its doors to local and international tourists in less than three months.
The plan involves the development of a ‘green bubble’ on the scenic island of 110,000 people by speeding up the vaccination process to ensure 80% of the population is vaccinated so that herd immunity can be achieved.
“Langkawi will serve as the destination for the first green bubble, but the good news, for tourism industry players nationwide – from hoteliers, to tour operators, to traders, and tour guides – is that many more green bubbles will be created,” says tourism, arts, and culture minister Nancy Shukri.
She said Langkawi was the perfect pilot area, being isolated, with a small population, and a single entry and exit point in the form of Langkawi international airport.
“It will not only allow us to reactivate the tourism industry there, but also allow us to see how our efforts can be improved in other green bubbles from Penang to Kuching.”
Green bubbles, which allow travel between states with fewer than 40 active Covid-19 cases, were put in place earlier but were closed after a resurgence in cases.
This time, however, the tourism green bubbles will refer to tourist destinations where herd immunity has been achieved.
To do this, the ministry will drive the acceleration of vaccination efforts in tourist destinations with the help of industry players, allowing those who have been vaccinated to visit these tourist spots.
“Tourism, which provides a livelihood for millions of people in this country, cannot recover so long as people cannot visit tourist destinations, so making sure that these places are safe to visit is crucial.
“The government is moving as fast as we can to achieve herd immunity throughout the country but to revive the tourism industry, we do not have to wait for that. We can start with tourist destinations, one after the other.”
Nancy said the ministry would do its part to accelerate the vaccination process by subsidising costs for additional manpower and vaccine centres. The ministry will also work with logistics and transport partners.
“We will conduct briefings on SOPs and have regular engagements with stakeholders on this. Once a tourist destination has achieved herd immunity, we will open it up for tourism activities.”
Aside from Langkawi, the ministry has already identified Kota Kinabalu, Penang, Desaru Coast, Pulau Perhentian, Kuching, Melaka, Genting Highlands and Pulau Tioman as green bubbles.
Nancy said achieving herd immunity in tourist destinations was vital in rebuilding the confidence of international and domestic tourists.
“I hope tourism industry players will join us in doing everything we can to accelerate the reopening of the sector as soon as possible. We can do this,” she says.