KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 1 — The proposal to keep the country’s borders close for international tourism activities until mid-2021 can help invigorate the economy with domestic spending, said Malaysia Association Tour Agency (MATA) president Datuk Mohd Khalid Harun.
He said the statement of the Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri recently was also significant to contain the Covid-19 pandemic in the country.
“However, to boost the domestic tourism sector, the government and state tourism agencies should provide a special incentive to all tourism industry players and not limited to tourist guides or vehicle drivers only.
“Incentives should also be given to tourism companies, hotels and others which have been badly affected throughout the enforcement of the movement control order,” he said in a statement here, today.
At the same time, Mohd Khalid said MATA also encouraged its members which have been promoting international tour packages to start promoting domestic packages.
This includes conducting familiarisation trips to the latest tourism locations in the country, he said.
In a recent interview with Nikkei Asian Review, Nancy said Malaysia may keep its borders close to international tourists until the second quarter of next year as a preventive measure to avoid a surge in Covid-19 cases.
— Bernama
