The tourism sector, which was said to have been hanging by a thread, was able to breathe again after Putrajaya allowed interstate travel to resume following its success in fully vaccinating 90% of the adult population.
To further stimulate the industry, the tourism, arts and culture ministry through Tourism Malaysia has launched multiple holiday packages specially catered to civil servants and government pensioners.
Its minister, Nancy Shukri, said 457 packages had been developed by the ministry involving tourism products across the nation, with deals as low as RM120 per person and valid until June 30 next year.
She hoped these packages would entice as many as possible of the 1.2 million Cuepacs members and over 700,000 government pensioners to go on vacation within the country.
The packages are not just limited to lodging, as civil servants and government pensioners are also being offered up to 30% in discounts on tickets to various tourist attractions.
Among the destinations in the packages are Genting Highlands, I-City Shah Alam, Sky Bridge KLCC, Sky Mirror Kuala Selangor, Endau-Rompin National Park, Mulu National Park, Royal Belum, Kilim Geoforest Park, Danum Valley, Wakaf Che Yeh and the Islamic Civilisation Park.
“We hope this initiative can revive domestic tourism and help the nation’s tourism industry recover after being hit the hardest by the Covid-19 pandemic,” Nancy said after launching the packages at Hotel Perdana in Kota Bharu, Kelantan on Oct 31.
She said these packages were a continuation of the special packages for civil servants launched in September last year, which focused on tourism products around the Klang Valley, and later Sabah.
That initiative was formed with the support of the Malaysian Tourism Promotion Board Employees Union and Cuepacs, the umbrella body for civil service unions.
Further information on the packages on offer may be obtained at https://deals.malaysia.travel/deals.
Kampung Laut’s tourism potential
Nancy also attended the handover of the Serunding Kampung Laut heritage site to her ministry by the East Coast Economic Region Development Council.
She was joined by economic affairs minister Mustapa Mohamed and Kelantan menteri besar Ahmad Yakob at the function.
The heritage site provides nine local entrepreneurs with space to set up their businesses, selling various local delicacies such as serunding, dodol and kuih gelembung buaya.
Nancy said the heritage site and Kampung Laut’s 300-year-old mosque had the potential of being recognised as a Unesco world heritage site.