Many Malaysians Also Want To Visit China, Say Travel Agencies

By Travel Destination 01 Jan, 2023 Post a Comment

KUALA LUMPUR: China's relaxation of quarantine requirements for visitors has also led to a surge in interest among Malaysians.

Travel agencies told the New Straits Times that travellers appeared undeterred by the high Covid-19 numbers in China, and had even been asking them on possible flights even before China announced the relaxation of its restrictions.

FAY Holidays Sdn Bhd managing director Fay Yunus said demand for China trips had been in place even during the pandemic.

"Our people have been demanding for a good three years now. They have been travelling to various parts of the world except China.

"A lot of the enquiries are from corporations. They have been asking whether it is safe to enter the country.

"Hence, I think once the restrictions are lifted, Malaysians will definitely go there," she said.

Earlier this week, the Beijing government announced that it would reopen its borders and drop the Covid-19 quarantine requirements for inbound travellers.

China's National Health Commission announced on Monday said that inbound travellers would no longer have to quarantine starting Jan 8, and there would be no official restrictions for its people going abroad.

At the same time, Fay, who is the Malaysia Inbound Tourism Association (Mita) vice-president, also called on the authorities to implement stricter standard operating procedures (SOP) for both inbound and outbound travellers.

Citing the Langkawi international travel bubble as a successful case, Fay said the authorities could opt for stricter SOP to prevent Covid-19 from China.

Baca Juga

"We have not received any information as to how the SOP will be implemented, but I believe it needs to be strictly enforced on both sides.

"The SOP for the Langkawi travel bubble was very strict and we could still see tourists coming in.

"Why don't we just use a similar method instead of shutting the door on them?" she said.

Malaysian Association of Hotels President Datin Christina Toh said Malaysians might be going to China to visit their families on Chinese New Year .

"People with family members will definitely want to go back. However, I (also) think they should at least wait for one to two months until the situation stabilises.

"If Malaysians travel there, they also need to be careful as China may just as easily shut itself down overnight. After three years of pandemic, I believe we are a lot wiser in deciding whether to go or not," she said.