Liaw
KOTA KINABALU: The arrival of the first batch of Covid-19 vaccines in Sabah on Thursday and the continuous drop in the number of daily positive cases are starting to convince major players in the local tourism industry to restart operations.
One glaring example is the announcement by KK-based Airworld Travel and Tours Sdn Bhd that its doors will be opened to the public starting March 1.
“Our staff will be reporting back to office on Tuesday onwards after the company temporarily shut down operations in December because of the negative domino effects of the pandemic,” proprietor Datuk Seri Winston Liaw said.
As a result of the life-threatening disease discovered in January 2020, he said Airworld Travel and Tours suffered an estimated loss of RM1 million in revenues.
He said the local tourism industry has come to a standstill because of the pandemic. There was almost no business transactions throughout the year that was.
As a result, Winston said, some tourism players took various measures like opting to temporarily close shop to avoid further losses.
“I am estimating Sabah encountered a loss of at least 90 percent of its tourism receipts when tourists stopped coming to the famous ‘Land Below The Wind’ since the start of the pandemic,” he said.
The Sabah Association of Tour and Travel Agents (Satta) president expressed optimisim that foreign visitors will start returning to Sabah in the very near future.
He said tourism players in China, Korea and Taiwan among others are closely monitoring the Covid-19 situation in Malaysia particularly Sabah.
With the arrival of the Covid-19 vaccine and the immunisation programme to start on March 4 here, Winton said Satta members and other local tourism stakeholders are expecting visitors to arrive within the months of May and June.
In view of this, he said there is now a need for the Federal and State governments to seriously consider the resumption of inbound international flights.
“Satta would like to suggest that direct international flights to Sabah be reinstated if the number of Covid-19 cases drops to 30. The process of giving the injectable vaccines to the local populace should also be speeded up to help the badly affected tourism industry recover,” he said, adding that it would also be of great help if the government allows designated medical clinics to provide vaccination to individuals at a minimal cost.
By doing so, Winston said, people need not have to wait a long time for vaccination that could cause delay travel programmes.
According to Winston, lifting the inter-state travel ban and easing SOP requirements for travellers are worth considering in this difficult time.
Likewise, he said, major players in the tourism sector including airline companies should work in unison to help entice tourists to come to Sabah again in terms of organising attractive tour packages.
Liaw said the association will also be embarking on a vaccination information campaign in response to Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s recent call for people to avail themselves of the ongoing free National Immunisation Vaccination Programme.