MAH chief praises tourism reopening decision

Published on : Monday, August 9, 2021

The tourism sector is preparing for a reopening following closely after a recent declaration on privileges granted to fully-vaccinated individuals.

Yap Lip Seng, Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH) chief executive officer, explained that even though the relaxations were only for states in Phase Two and above under the National Recovery Plan (NRP), it was an important measure not just for tourism but for the country in general.

To quote Yap Lip Seng, “It bears commitment from the government to transition the country from the state of pandemic to accepting Covid-19 as endemic.”

“While these are relatively small progressive steps especially for the tourism industry, the industry can now prepare itself for an impending reopening,” he said in a statement.

Yap explained allowing dine-in at restaurants, for example, was anticipated to make the hotels profitable.
“This will particularly benefit those certified Clean & Safe by the Bureau Veritas Certification Malaysia, a proprietary hygiene and safety label for hotels by MAH, that had since its inception included ventilation, airflow and seating arrangements as part of safety and health guidelines for restaurants in the hotels.”

“The overall high compliance of standard operating procedures by hotels is an added assurance to the general public that it is safe to dine and even stay whether it is just for a short staycation or for any other travel purposes,” he said.
Also, he added that the association had also offered yet another proposal to the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry, on permitting interstate travel to all fully-vaccinated individuals with added controls of confirmed hotel bookings and itinerary that could be counter-monitored by hotels.

“With the current progress, this should be the next phase of relaxation, commencing for travels between states that had transitioned to Phase Two of the NRP.”