‘Malaysians planning holidays in countries with fewer travel restrictions’

HOLIDAYMAKERS are shelving plans to visit popular destinations such as Japan, South Korea and China for now due to ongoing Covid-19 restrictions imposed by the respective governments.

Instead, Malaysians are travelling to destinations closer to home, such as Vietnam and Thailand, said Malaysian Chinese Tourism Association (MCTA) Johor chapter chairman Edwin Tay.

Besides that, he said travel packages to European countries were also a hit as many of them have lifted most of their restrictions.

The freedom of enjoying a holiday without many restrictions was a primary factor for most travellers, said Tay.

“Turkiye, which was among the first countries in the world to have lifted its travel restrictions, is one of the crowd favourites.

“This is evident in the encouraging number of packages sold at the three-day Malaysia International Travel Mart that we organised.

“China’s borders are still closed due to Covid-19 while Japan requires travel visa, which is not easily approved.

“Those going to South Korea and Taiwan are subjected to regular PCR tests and a quarantine period, making it more expensive when you factor in these costs, so people are looking at other countries to travel to with ease,” he said.

As for domestic destinations, best selling packages at the recently held travel fair were Semporna in Sabah, followed by Langkawi in Kedah, Pulau Tioman in Pahang and Pulau Besar in Johor.

“We also noticed that the level of confidence in travelling was growing among Malaysians, which is a positive sign for the tourism industry as a whole.

“Previously, travellers were very concerned about the Covid-19 situation in the countries of interest.

“But these days, they are willing to put down a booking fee immediately upon enquiring about prices and schedules,” he said.

Tay also said the association was in the midst of preparing for its next travel fair, which was expected to be held after Chinese New Year next year and would focus on promoting Muslim-friendly tourism packages.

Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA) fair Johor chapter organising chairman Kathryn Lee said aside from foreign tour packages, cruise packages were also selling like “hot cakes”.

“Cruises departing from Singapore, Port Klang and Penang are quite sought after.

“Holidaymakers get to choose from four, five or six-day packages.

“Prices for these cruises start from RM1,000 per person, inclusive of on-board entertainment, dining and sports,” she said.

She also said that Penang remained a popular domestic holiday destination as many snapped up the RM599 three-day, two-night packages, inclusive of flight tickets and accommodation, during the MATTA fair that was held in Johor Baru earlier this month.

Lee hoped such travel fairs would further contribute to the tourism industry’s recovery.