The Covid-19 Pandemic Management Special Committee meeting today agreed with the International Tourism Bubble’s proposed SOP for the Langkawi Island Pilot Project. The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, said that the pilot project will be carried out for three months for MOH and MKN to see the effectiveness before being implemented in other resort islands and tourist areas.
He said international tourists who wished to take advantage of the international tourism bubble must meet the conditions and comply with the SOPs set, which include pre-departure, arrival and accommodation, pre-departure to the country of origin. For pre-departure, the target group is high yield tourists, individuals who have been fully vaccinated, children under the age of 18 must be accompanied by their parents or guardians who are fully vaccinated and the list of countries allowed is subject to the Immigration Department, MOH and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He said, as quoted by Berita Harian,
“The stay period is at least three days, no quarantine conditions but applicable to the Langkawi international tourism bubble only, must perform Covid-19 PCR-RT test within 72 hours before departure and must present test results in digital or printed form.”
Apart from that, the minimum insurance coverage for each potential international tourist is USD 80,000 (about RM 330,000), must use the travel services of a tour operator licensed under MOTAC, must have a passport and visa ‘Health Declaration Form LoU and Indemnity’, download the MySejahtera application and register before departure.
As for the conditions of arrival and accommodation, the Prime Minister said, if passing through Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), tourists need to do a saliva detection test within 1 hour 30 minutes before departure. If directly to Langkawi, he said, tourists must do the RT-PCR Covid-19 test on the second day and if positive, will continue to be taken to isolation centres, quarantine or private hospitals by category, besides only one tour guide is allowed in a group of visits containing maximum 20 people.
Read the full announcement here:
Ismail Sabri explained that if travelling for three days, the RT-PCR Covid-19 screening test on the second day is sufficient and it can be used to return to the country of origin, while if travelling for more than five days, it is mandatory to do a screening test on the fifth day with all the cost is borne by the tourists themselves.
Hopefully, the international Langkawi travel bubble will be a success and become the start of our international tourism once again.
Also read: KJ: 80% Of Adolescents In M’sia Have Received 1 Dose Of The Vaccine In Less Than 2 Months
