According to State Minister for Tourism, Culture and Environment Datuk Jafry Ariffin, the Government's move to allow tourists to enter Sabah would speed up the recovery of the tourism industry of the state, which is severely hit with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jafry says that he is sure that Sabah tourism industries will be prepared to receive domestic and international tourists from Brunei by planning various protocols and procedures concerning health and safety.
“According to Sabah tourism statistics, the number of tourists from Brunei rose from 56,259 in 2018 to 78,605 last year. The reopening of borders is bound to hasten the recovery of the tourism industry from the impact of COVID-19,” he said in statement.
Datuk Masidi Manjun stated that the National Security Council had agreed with the government's proposal to permit tourists to enter the Sabah region from Brunei.
Masidi said that tourists are permitted to enter by land or air subject to COVID-19 screening, as stipulated in the Standard Operational Procedure (SOP) of the Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO) in Sabah.
Commenting further, Jafry said that the decision had been taken after the neighbouring country had not reported any positive COVID-19 cases in the last seven months and had been classified as a green country.
He said local people should take this opportunity to spend their weekend holidays in Sabah, in particular, to improve the economy of the domestic tourism sec
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