Recreational spots, seaside resorts and shopping centres in the city are facing a drastic drop in the number of cross-border visitors from Brunei.

These places are usually packed with Bruneians and foreigners who come here for entertainment, shopping and food on weekends but not anymore.

The beaches in Miri such as the famous Tanjong beachfront are almost empty.

The food stalls are seeing a sparse crowd unlike before, all due to the Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak.

Ground checks found very few Bruneian vehicles at the shopping centres, beachfront and resorts.

Frequent traveller Ling Sie Ting, who works in Brunei and travels to Miri every week, said the outbreak was keeping away crowds.

“The immigration checkpoint at Sungai Tujuh is usually packed on Friday, which is a weekend in Brunei.

“Bruneians and Malaysians working in Brunei will cross into Miri and have to wait in long queues, sometimes lasting about two hours.

“Now I can come through Sungai Tujuh in 10 minutes as there is no queue,” he said.

A check with beach resorts here found that bookings from Bruneians had dropped by about half.