The government’s decision to allow fully vaccinated individuals to stay at hotels for tourism purposes starting yesterday is a significant step forward to revive the tourism industry, says Malaysian Association of Hotels Sarawak Chapter chairman John Teo.

He said the latest decision would enable those residing in states under Phase 2 and above of the National Recovery Plan (NRP) to take a break and relax with a ‘staycation’ amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

“This is good news for the tourism industry to see that fully vaccinated individuals are allowed to stay at hotels or homestays within the same state they are in.

“A lot of people have been so tense as they are not able to move around for the past one-and-a-half year,” he said.

He said the past year-and-a-half really hit the beleaguered tourism and hospitality industries hard.

“It’s so hard for them to try and sustain their business because they have nowhere to sustain.

“The relaxation of the standard operating procedures (SOPs) will give tourism industry players a new lease of life and they can now plan on how to carry on with their business under the new SOPs,” he said.

Teo said with the relaxation, tourism industry players must also make sure that all their employees are fully vaccinated.

“They must also make sure that guests coming to stay at their hotels are fully vaccinated and to check their MySejahtera app for the digital Covid-19 vaccination certificate.

“We have to make sure that everyone is safe as much as possible,” he said.
Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin on Sunday announced that restrictions in the social sector would be eased for fully vaccinated individuals starting yesterday.

Apart from domestic tourism involving hotels and homestays, he said those living in states that are in Phase 2 and beyond of the NRP would be able to engage in social sector activities such as inter-district travel, dine-in at restaurants as well as non-group sport and recreational activities without physical contact.

Sarawak is one of three states given the green light to transition to Phase 3 along with Perlis and Labuan.