Langkawi Is Looking To Welcome Fully Vaccinated Tourists In September
The Kedah MB said he was confident that the opening of Langkawi in the next two months would restore the tourism sector on the island.
By Jananey Ramachandran — 02 Jul 2021, 04:00 PM
Tourists who have received two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine can begin travelling to Langkawi for vacations, hopefully by September, said Kedah Menteri Besar (MB) Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor
"Tourists who want to enter Langkawi need to complete two doses of vaccine and those who are not vaccinated or have only received one dose, are not allowed to vacation in Langkawi," Sanusi said after visiting the Enhanced Movement Control Order (EMCO) area of Tuanku Sultanah Bahiyah Polytechnic (PSTB) in Kedah yesterday, 1 July, according to Berita Harian.
Sanusi said he was confident that the opening of Langkawi in the next two months would restore the tourism sector on the island.
"Hotels in Langkawi are in a very bad state at the moment, we understand that and are very sympathetic. We want to speed up the vaccination process, because I myself want to visit Langkawi," he said.
Previously, Sanusi said that 80% of Langkawi's population needs to be vaccinated against COVID-19 before before the expected arrival of tourists in September
"To achieve this, the state government is working with the Ministry of Tourism, Arts, and Culture (MOTAC) and the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation (MOSTI) to ensure that at least 61,000 of the island's residents receives at least one dose of the vaccine," he said during the Kedah state government exco meeting on Friday, 23 June.
According to Sanusi, they have coordinated with the island's district Disaster Operations Control Centre (PKOB) to prepare vaccination centres and speed up the vaccination process.
The Kedah MB also said that the recovery of Langkawi's tourist industry requires special attention, since its competitors — Krabi and Phuket — are anticipated to open soon
He added that Qatar Airways has already expressed its willingness to establish a travel bubble with Langkawi by flying seven flights per week to the resort island from 121 international destinations.
"Yesterday (22 June), they (Qatar Airways) met with the Langkawi Development Authority (Lada) to announce their commitment and we hope this travel bubble can be implemented once the vaccination program in Langkawi has been completed," he said.
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