PETALING JAYA: The Covid-19 pandemic, which infected millions internationally, causing unprecedented border closures and travel restrictions, has left the tourism and travel sector in shambles around the world.

Analysts are predicting that when the recovery process starts, the travel and tourism sector may be the last to recuperate once the dust settles.

Ushering in 2021, Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri called upon industry players to maintain their efforts in reviving the tourism sector.

Tourism industry players, she said, should continue introducing attractive packages periodically to maintain public interest.

They must also abide by the Health Ministry’s SOP in order to ensure the sustainability of the tourism economy.

The tourism sector is a crucial one as it is among the biggest economic contributors to the country.

“I hope that the programmes and initiatives that have been planned will help revive the domestic tourism sector with effective collaboration between all relevant parties towards the recovery of the national economy, ” she said in an interview with The Star.

Noting that the pandemic has severely affected the tourism industry around the world, Nancy said there were still significant drops in international demand due to global travel restrictions.

Although the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) is predicting a decline of close to 70% in international arrivals for 2020, Nancy said a majority of experts still see a rebound in international tourism by the third quarter of 2021.

“Nevertheless, the Covid-19 pandemic has adversely impacted Malaysia’s tourism industry, as tourists from around the world are cancelling bookings and delaying travel plans to Malaysia due to travel restrictions and containment measures, ” she said.

Nancy is estimating that the losses suffered by Malaysia’s tourism sector may increase to more than RM100bil by the end of 2020.

Despite that, she still expressed optimism on the tourism industry, adding that the Tourism Ministry had announced various initiatives such as the Domestic Travel Bubble, which will allow the people to travel safely between green zones in the country.

The government's decision to allow cross-border and interdistrict travel nationwide without the need for police permits in non-enhanced MCO areas is another boost to domestic tourism.

At the same time, Nancy said consultations between the ministry and industry players produced several interesting ideas, among which were destination-to-destination and island-to-island travel arrangements, as well as small group tours for special interest tourism such as golfing, diving, bird watching, hiking and caving.

“This segment of tourism is identified as low-risk due to the nature of its activities, which frequently involves a small number of tourists and reduces interaction with the general public.

“However, we also have to be realistic and wait for the Covid-19 infection rate to go down before other countries would want to establish a travel bubble with us, ” she said.

Travel bubbles are one of the measures under the Tourism Recovery Plan, which has three strategies – to restore travel confidence, to revive domestic tourism and to identify all tourism products as well as increase more creative offerings.

“The domestic travel bubble initiatives are designed to help revitalise the domestic tourism sector with the cooperation of each local tourism player towards the recovery and economic development of the country, ” she added.

Nancy disagreed that the authorities have been too tight in Covid-19 restrictions compared to other countries, saying that the SOP developed by the Malaysian Government was to ensure the safety of the people.

She also said that beginning Dec 14, the quarantine period of overseas travellers entering Malaysia had been reduced from 14 to 10 days.

“The decision was made based on current clinical scientific reports and quarantine practices of other countries, ” she said.

On the Malaysian My 2nd Home (MM2H) programme, Nancy said her ministry was unable to process any new applications because the processing of MM2H applications involved other ministries and agencies whose roles were disrupted by the pandemic.

“Therefore, foreigners who include people from China, who are still interested, are welcome to reapply for the MM2H programme once it is reactivated.

“Foreigners are also advised to pursue other visas offered by the Immigration Department, ” she said.

In wishing a Happy New Year to Malaysians, Nancy expressed optimism that with the combined efforts of the government, the ministry, industry players and Malaysians, the tourism industry would be back on track.

“Let’s hope and pray that we will have a better 2021 ahead of us, ” she said.

Below is the full version of the interview

Q: Datuk Seri, 2020 has, thankfully, come to an end and we look forward to 2021 with hope and optimism. There is hope because we believe the end is near. Can we recap the impact of the Covid-19 to Malaysia as we were to celebrate Visit Malaysia Year 2020 and to host Apec 2020?

Nancy: The Covid-19 pandemic has affected almost every country in the world. As a people-oriented industry, travel and tourism are among the most affected sectors with a significant drop in international demand amid global travel restrictions, even as close to 70% of destinations are reported to have eased restrictions with appropriate risk-based measures in place.

While estimations by the UNWTO predict a decline of close to 70% in international arrivals for the year 2020, which puts an end to 10 years of sustained growth since 2009, a majority of experts sees a rebound in international tourism in 2021, particularly by the third quarter.

Nevertheless, the Covid-19 pandemic has hugely and adversely impacted Malaysia’s tourism industry, as tourists from around the world are cancelling bookings and delaying travel plans to Malaysia due to travel restrictions and containment measures.

Like other countries in the world, the losses suffered by Malaysia’s tourism and culture industries from the Covid-19 pandemic in the first half of this year amounting to around RM45bil will increase to more than RM100bil by the end of 2020.

Q: With borders still closed, domestic travellers remain the only source for the travel industry to depend on. Is the domestic market enough for the industry to sustain or survive?

Nancy: Domestic tourism contributes hugely to our economy. According to the Domestic Tourism Survey data from the Department of Statistics, in 2019, Domestic tourism records an expenditure of RM103bil. In 2020, as we all have experienced, the tourism industry has been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic. MOTAC (Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry) is keen that domestic tourism can contribute and boost the industry. To help revitalise and invigorate the sector, MOTAC has announced various initiatives such as the Domestic Travel Bubble which will allow people to travel safely between green zones. The government has introduced a green zone domestic travel bubble beginning November 2020 and the Domestic Travel Bubble standard operating procedures (SOPs) were approved on Nov 23,2020.

On Dec 7,2020, the government has decided to allow movements across states and districts nationwide without the need for police permit except in areas under enhanced MCO. We thanked the government for the announcement and believe this will help in boosting our domestic tourism and help MOTAC in achieving the Tourism Recovery Plan goals.

Q: The tourism industry will need international travel bubbles to be established as soon as possible. We need a forward blueprint on reopening borders commencing with selected bubbles and its corresponding set of requirements such as special insurances, healthcare deposits as well as movement tracking guidelines and mechanism to ensure minimal interruption to travel itinerary while remaining under close observation of health authorities. Will we be seeing reopening of borders by phases, beginning with travellers for business events such as conferences and trade shows where it can be held under a controlled environment? After all, business travellers are known to spend at least three times more than conventional tourists.

Nancy: MOTAC had a consultation with tourism industry players earlier and has come up with several creative ideas for Malaysia to restart cross-border tourism safely and systematically. Among the ideas include destination-to-destination and island-to-island travel arrangements, as well as small group tours for special interest tourism such as golfing, diving, bird watching, hiking and caving, with pre-planned itineraries through registered travel operators. This segment of tourism is identified as low-risk due to the nature of its activities, which frequently involves a small number of tourists and reduced interaction with the general public. However, we also have to be realistic and wait for the Covid-19 infection rate to go down before other countries would want to establish a travel bubble with us.

The green zone domestic travel bubble began on Nov 20,2020, and the Domestic Travel Bubble standard operating procedures (SOPs) were approved. This was prepared by MOTAC and jointly established by the Ministry of Health and the National Security Council (NSC). The SOP can be found on the ministry’s website and its social media platforms. This initiative allows movement between green zones, meaning people from green zones can travel to other green zones in the country.

The travel bubble is one of the strategies under the Tourism Recovery Plan, which covers three strategies; firstly, to restore people’s confidence to travel; secondly, to revive and invigorate domestic tourism or “Reviving Domestic Tourism”; and thirdly, to identify all tourism products and increase more creative offerings by maximising resources. The domestic travel bubble initiatives were designed to help revitalise the domestic tourism sector with the cooperation of each local tourism player towards the recovery and economic development of the country.

Q: Tourist arrivals to Malaysia from January to September 2020 declined 78.6 per cent compared to the same period last year due to the pandemic. Malaysia only received 4.3 million tourists during the period compared to 20 million in 2019, according to a Tourism Malaysia statement. The decline in total tourist arrivals also saw tourism revenue declined by 81 per cent to RM12.6bil during the period, compared to RM66.1bil the year before. What are the strategies planned by Tourism Malaysia for 2021 and beyond?

Nancy: The ministry has identified various strategies in the Tourism, Arts and Culture Rehabilitation Plan to ensure that these sectors can continue to play a role despite the current difficult situation.

The plan consists of several key strategies:

a) Enliven domestic tourism such as offering creative and attractive packages through digital platforms and promoting the uniqueness of rural tourist destinations or hidden gems as tourists prefer safe destinations with a relaxed lifestyle and fresh air.

b) Increase the confidence of the people to travel safely and smoothly by emphasising on health and safety protocols. Digitization is essential as most people turn to online platforms to get the latest news. Thus, consumer choice for online bookings and contactless transactions are increasing including digitization is a must to meet customer expectations and satisfaction.

c) Encourage the tourism community to adopt a new culture with compliance to standard operating procedures or SOPs that have been set as the new norm of tourism activities in Malaysia.

d) Improving the standard and quality of services and tourism and cultural products, especially in terms of hygiene and security in line with the operating SOP set by the National Security Council (NSC) at main tourist attractions. This is to ensure that the tourism and cultural services and products provided are of high quality so that tourists are satisfied and get a unique experience, then choose to stay longer, visit more places and spend more.

e) Strengthen public-private partnerships especially in re-creating tourism, arts and culture products to be more attractive and innovative.

f) Reskilling and upskilling to improve the quality and credibility of the profession by adapting to the culture of new norms. As a result, this will reduce dependence on foreign workers and maximise the use of local talent pool available.

Q: You recently launched a campaign to jump-start the travel economy again through collaborations with Malaysia Hotel Associations (MAH), local airline companies, private & public transportation company (Prasarana) and local crafts outlets (Karyaneka). You indicated a 3-core strategy i.e to restore people’s confidence to travel, to revive domestic tourism as well as maximizing available resources. Can you share what is the expected take-up rate for this campaign and how successful has it been so far?

Nancy: MOTAC has and will continue to work hard in finding the best resolutions and approaches to strengthen and revitalise the tourism and cultural industries affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. MOTAC is grateful because finally the government on Dec 5,2020, has approved and allowed cross-state and cross-district in PKPB and PKPP (conditional and recovery MCO) areas. I think this gives space and opportunities for domestic tourism to thrive after this.

MOTAC synchronically with departments and agencies has implemented three initiatives to boost the country’s tourism and cultural industry covering the accommodation, transportation and discounting of craft product sectors.

Accommodation:

a) Offering accommodation packages with MAH and Shopee e-market platform.

- Use the Shopee E-Marketplace application as an intermediary and accommodation package booking platform that provides direct benefits to end-users, namely users through the voucher rebate method.

- Consumers need to purchase a minimum accommodation package of three-day-two-night to redeem the voucher rebate of RM100 and RM50 based on the category of hotel purchased. A total of 43,983 rooms targeted for sale through this campaign.

- A total of RM250,000 will be allocated as an incentive for the first 12,500 users who have made a three-day-two-night accommodation package purchase and complete payment will enjoy a cash e-voucher of RM20 that can be used to purchase other items in the Shopee app to boost the buying economy- shopping in Malaysia online.

- This campaign targets Malaysian citizens, and the duration of this campaign is from December 2020 to February 2021.

b) Collaboration with MyBHA (Malaysia Budget Hotel Association) for budget hotels (three stars and below) selected by state, and priority will be given to members registered with MOTAC through two MyBHA campaigns, namely "Jom Nginap" and "Malaysia Welcomes You".

- For the Jom Nginap campaign, a cashback offer of RM20 in the form of Touch n’Go for each minimum transaction of RM50. This offer from Dec 31,2020, to March 2021 is limited to 62,500 bookings.

- For the "Malaysia Welcomes You" campaign, the collaboration is also with Touch n’Go and will offer a rebate of RM20 for the booking period from April to June 2021, and is limited to 62,500 bookings.

Transportation:

a) Cuti-Cuti Malaysia campaign in collaboration with airlines such as Malaysia Airlines Berhad (MAB), Air Asia, Firefly and Malindo Air.

- RM50 discount promotion campaign for one-way flights targeting Malaysian citizens.

- Malaysia Airlines & Firefly - a discount of RM50 or RM100 for round trip flight tickets for economy class and business class tickets only. The booking period for this campaign for Malaysia Airlines was from Nov 24 to Dec 3,2020, while the travel period is from November to June 2021. The booking period for Firefly is from Nov 24 to Dec 8,2020, and the travel period is from November 2020 to October 2021. Overall, the offer is for as much as 9,000 seats.

- Air Asia - voucher rebate of RM50 for ticket purchases and targets a maximum of 24,000 people starting Nov 30,2020.

- Malindo Air - offers a limited discount offer of RM50 to 6,000 users with the earliest registration starting on Dec 9,2020.

- All airlines will also carry out advertising and promotional activities (A&P) for this promotional campaign including displaying the logo "Cuti-Cuti Malaysia" on existing advertising medium as well as through publicity on social media accounts such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

- Initiatives in the services, transportation and private companies segment are in collaboration with Prasarana through the MY30 Pass (Buy 1 free 1) campaign, which is scheduled to start from Dec 7,2020, until March 2021. This pass offered to the first 5,000 users where each purchase of MY30 pass will be given another free pass in the form of a voucher and can be redeemed next month. With the MY30 pass, users can enjoy unlimited Rapid KL Rail (LRT/MRT/Monorail, bus and BRT network rides) for 30 days.

Craft product purchase discount in the work outlet:

a) RM500,000 allocated for the purchase of craft products at all Karyaneka outlets, a subsidiary of Kraftangan Malaysia.

b) Users are eligible to enjoy a discount of RM30 for every purchase of a minimum of RM100. This offer starts on Nov 24,2020.

As for Malaysian civil servants:

1. The campaign is currently underway in the Central Region and will be expanded to other regions for the period of December 2020 to March 2021. To date, a total of 427 packages have been developed for tourist locations nationwide. Alhamdulillah, until October 2020, a total of RM115,549 worth of package sales were successfully recorded through this Civil Servant Package Campaign.

2. People to refer to the Tourism Malaysia website to get inspiration for travel trips as well as domestic attractive packages at www.malaysia.travel

3. For the year 2020, this projection is slightly affected and MOTAC is working to ensure that the tourism sector is vibrant and a contributor to the GDP in the future.

4. MOTAC is always committed to ensuring that the tourism and culture sectors remain competitive and calls on all industry players to join MOTAC to ensure the sustainability of this sector.

Q: Thailand has often been regarded as creative and flexible when it comes to tourism promotion. We seem to be bogged down by much red tape, that is the perception, rightly or wrongly. Thailand has announced visas for all nationalities and even promoted a 14-day quarantine golf tour. Why do we have the perception that we are too tight?

Nancy: First off, I certainly do not agree with the statement that we are too tight. The standard operating procedures (SOPs) are developed by the government to ensure the safety of the people. They need to comply with the SOPs until the vaccine is found and brought into Malaysia. SOP is one of the preventive and regulatory measures contained in Act 342 (Prevention And Control Of Infectious Diseases Act 1988). If the community can continue to comply with the SOP given, then rest assured we can bring down the cases.

Starting on Dec 14,2020, the quarantine period for overseas travellers entering Malaysia has been shortened from 14 to 10 days. Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said that the decision was made based on the current clinical scientific reports and the quarantine practices by other countries.

The SOPs are also to let people travel safely, with peace of mind. With the recently announced the Domestic Travel Bubble, tourism industry players have advised Malaysians to plan their trips well and to adhere to the government’s SOP to ensure that everyone stays safe. Everyone should see themselves as more of a frontliner and to remind each other to comply with the SOP. That’s why (the slogan) says "kita jaga kita" (we take care of each other) should be a guide for every Malaysian citizen. We should follow the SOP set by the government and maintain the highest level of hygiene at all times during our travel.

To ensure that the Domestic Travel Bubble implemented in a safely and systematically, MOTAC has come out with the Domestic Travel Bubble standard operating procedure (SOP) which was approved on Nov 23,2020. In addition to that, there are 20 other SOPs related to the domestic tourism sector that needs to be complied with:

1. Food (Premise Business)

2. Hotel Accommodation Premises

3. Malaysia Homestay Experience

4. Tourism Operating Company

5. Adventure Tourism & Extreme Activities

6. Scuba Diving & Snorkelling Activities

7. Tourist Guide

8. Tourism Training Institute

9. Theme Park

10. SPA, Wellness, PUK & Reflexology

11. Art and Cultural Heritage Exhibition

12. Meeting, Incentive, Convention & Exhibition (MICE)

13. Family Entertainment Centre

14. Sports and Leisure (Youth and Sports Ministry)

15. Live Events

16. Creative Arts, Culture and Heritage Industry

17. Land Public Transport Sector (Transport Ministry)

18. Travel & Trade Fairs/Marts/Bazaar/Carnival

19. Eco-Tourism (Water, Land and Natural Resources Ministry)

20. Official/Informal/Social Events (NSC)

21. New Norm (NSC)

All these SOPs are outlined in detail the preventive measures and security procedures that need to be emphasized by all tourism and cultural industry players in the reopening of their respective businesses. They need to make this SOP as a new normal practice to regain the confidence of the general public to return to travel within the country, with peace of mind.

In this respect, I would like to urge everyone to remember that we are still in the recovery phase and we are not near the zero-case phase yet, with infection numbers appearing to be in the rise again.

Everyone should play his or her role in adhering to the SOPs, especially the social distancing part, wearing a mask and practice self-hygiene. Once the border opens, we are ready to accept travellers from other countries.

Q: Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) continues to be a subject of controversy. Many foreign Chinese buyers have expressed their unhappiness in their media. What is the update on this as it is a low hanging fruit for our economy? It would seem to be easier for a low skill foreign worker to stay here than a well-heeled foreigner who wants to own properties in Malaysia and to apply for MM2H.

Nancy: The Government of Malaysia has decided to temporarily suspend the Malaysia My Second Home Programme (MM2H) to allow MOTAC and related agencies to comprehensively review and re-evaluate the MM2H programme since its inception in 2002. The suspension is in line with the government's decision not to allow foreigners to enter Malaysia following the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic. During the suspension, the MM2H programme will be reviewed based on the criteria, conditions, incentives as well as comparative study done to the equivalent of the MM2H programme, such as Citizenship by Investment (CBI) or Residence by Investment (RBI).

Currently, MOTAC is also unable to process any new applications including applications that have already been submitted. This is because the processing of MM2H applications involves various ministries and agencies whose roles are also affected by the suspension.

Therefore, foreigners who include people from China who are still interested to participate in the MM2H programme are welcomed to reapply once the MM2H programme is reactivated but must abide by the current requirements. Apart from that, foreigners are advised to pursue other visas offered by the Immigration Department Malaysia, whichever deemed appropriate.

MOTAC is confident that all stakeholders will benefit from the outcome of this study, which will be synergized with the existing needs of the MM2H programme. MOTAC also hopes that all related parties can support the government's intention to improve the MM2H programme so that the revised MM2H programme will be comparable with other similar programmes internationally.

We believe, Malaysia remains attractive to foreigners to buy a property and has long been a favourite investment choice that offers affordable standards of living, high quality of life, medical facilities, and accessible educational institutions. Once the international border is open and we resume the MM2H programme, all foreigners are welcome to apply regardless of their nationalities, as long as they meet the requirements.

Q: Business tourists are crucial to Malaysia as they spend more than an average tourist on holiday as they often use company expenses and stay in five-star hotels. They often come back for holidays with their families. But MICE has been badly hit. When will we consider allowing green bubble entries for them?

Nancy: As we all know, the worst-hit sub-sector within tourism is the MICE industry, which had great potential as a significant and rising segment of the tourism industry. However, the Covid-19 outbreak brought the whole MICE industry to a standstill with unparalleled and unforeseen impact to the lives, economies, societies and the livelihoods associated with the industry. Since the pandemic outbreak happened, hundreds of business events have been cancelled all over the world. As a result of these adverse conditions, most of the events have been cancelled, postponed or relocated. It is also predicted that the MICE industry will be the last sector to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic.

In the case of Malaysia, we have partnered with the local industry players in organising various programmes. One of which is today’s programme of Meet in Malaysia @ Malaysia Business Events Week, which is anticipated to give a major impact to the industry players in identifying and seizing opportunities during the crisis and rebuilding everyone's confidence in the sector.

Other initiatives undertaken by Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB) include helping the local industry partners to recover from losses at times of crisis such as during MCO and always inspire the local industry to keep on planning for business events through alternative initiatives such as Tactical Malaysia Twin Deal V (TMTDV), the Exhibition Enhancement Package and the Homegrown Event Support. MyCEB also completed a business exchange competition, which includes industry champions and undergraduates to contribute their ideas on how to cope with the new norm business events organisation.

Thankfully, the NSC special session on Dec 14,2020, agreed in principle for the reopening of four tourism and cultural sub-sectors in the PKPB (conditional MCO) phase, which are MICE events, tourism products, art & heritage exhibitions and theme parks & indoor playground which started on Friday, Dec 18,2020, with a capacity limit of 50%.

The special session also agreed that business events at the national borders for delegates from Singapore, Thailand and Brunei will be implemented in Johor, Langkawi, Sabah and Sarawak starting from January 2021, as soon as the MIDA (Malaysian Investment Development Authority) one-stop centre (OSC) platform is available.

Therefore, I agree that business tourists are crucial to Malaysia that can generate revenue and contribute to a country’s economic development. With regards to this matter, MOTAC will issue the latest PKPB SOP for this purpose.

Q: China has almost recovered from the pandemic. They are almost back to normal. They form the largest number of travellers. With being just four hours away, Malaysia can benefit from Chinese tourists as our airlines especially Air Asia has direct routes to several Chinese cities, your views please.

Nancy: China has been Malaysia’s third-biggest tourist source country after Singapore and Indonesia since 2012, displacing Thailand from the top three. In 2019, Malaysia received over 13.3 million tourist arrivals from January until June according to Tourism Malaysia. For the first half of 2019, tourist arrivals from China to Malaysia registered a total of 1.55 million tourists compared with 1.46 million tourists for the same period of 2018, an increase of 6.4%. In 2019, Malaysia welcomed 2.94 million Chinese tourists in the country.

Malaysia registered 4.25 million tourist arrivals in the first half of 2020, down 68.2 per cent from the same period in 2019 - China (401,285).

Malaysian Inbound Tourism Association (MITA) is working on several initiatives, including a live-broadcasting event to regain Chinese tourists’ interest to travel to Malaysia in the future.

MITA president Uzaidi Udanis shared that the association is working closely with its Chinese counterparts to host a three-hour event that will be broadcasted live on a TV channel based in Shandong, China, to showcase Malaysia’s agro products and tour packages in a shopping programme. The tour packages are for "buy now, travel later" and it offers good discounts of up to 70 per cent, and a validity period until Dec 31,2022.

In addition, MITA is also developing a B2B marketplace platform to cater to the Chinese market, focusing on products not sold by OTAs in China, such as homestays and eco-tourism tours. The platform is expected to be operational next year. Furthermore, MITA is working with Tourism Productivity Nexus (TPN) to run online one-on-one consultations with tourism players to help them tackle challenges during this period and spur them to adopt "new normal" practices as they start down the path of recovery.

When the border reopens, we expect to get more FITs (free independent travellers) from China and elsewhere. If there are groups, it will be small, private groups of extended family members or friends travelling together. Big busloads of Chinese tourists holidaying together in groups will be a thing of the past.

Q: Finally, what are your New Year resolution and hope?

Nancy: I call upon the tourism industry players to continue their efforts to introduce attractive packages periodically to maintain public interest, as well as to abide by the SOPs that have been outlined by the health authorities to inculcate the new norms to ensure the sustainability of the tourism economy which is one of the biggest economic contributors of the country. I hope that the programmes and initiatives that have been planned will help revive the domestic tourism sector with effective collaboration between all relevant parties towards the recovery of the national economy.

In the 2021 Budget, MOTAC was allocated RM1.14bil. Therefore, several key strategies are being implemented to revive the tourism industry, namely:

1. Restore the public's confidence to travel again through the narration of interesting places or locations.

2. Revitalise domestic tourism by offering more creative and attractive travel packages such as organising travel festivals/carnivals online.

3. Give priority to segments that have been approved by the government such as health tourism, theme parks and MICE tourism.

4. Maximise existing resources through the cooperation of various parties.

5. Reskilling and upskilling to improve the quality and credibility of the profession by adapting to new normal cultures.

6. The ministry has offered Domestic Tourism Vibes online courses in collaboration with the Association of Tourism Training Institutes of Malaysia (ATTIM) and the Malaysian Tourist Guide Council (MTGC) from May to November 2020 to a group of licensed tour guides who have had their driver's licenses expired from the period of April to December 2020.

InsyaAllah, with the combined efforts between the government, MOTAC itself, the industry players and all Malaysians, we can bring the industry back on track and contribute to the economy. Wishing everyone a blessed and a Happy New Year 2021. Let’s hope and pray that we will have a better 2021 ahead of us.

Source: https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2021/01/02/ministry-out-to-revive-local-tourism