Continuing the inter-district and interstate ban will only kill the tourism industry which is already in the doldrums.
“The move to extend the inter-district and interstate travel ban until at least 70% of the population is vaccinated will devastate the tourism industry.
“The continuous banning of interstate travel for an uncertain amount of time will kill the tourism industry with the tourism sector being in total reliance on domestic tourism to keep their operations afloat and also to sustain employment while the international borders are closed,” said State Exco for Tourism and Creative Economy, Yeoh Soon Hin in a press statement.
“I understand the intention behind this consideration in order to contain the spread of the pandemic during this time with the worrying high number of cases.
“However, I hope that the Federal Government will take into account the severe repercussions of this ban to the tourism industry and those who depend on this industry to make a living.
“If this is implemented, then I hope that the Federal Government can do more, either through the extension of a moratorium or to provide more targeted subsidies, to keep the tourism industry sustained while the Federal secures the necessary vaccination supply.
“I don’t think industry players could survive much longer as they are juggling huge operating costs with almost zero revenue. This will definitely lead to more closures of tourism businesses and job losses,” he added.
Yeoh is insistent that a crucial balance must be struck between the priority of public health with the need to sustain economic activity.
“As well as ensuring people are safe and healthy, we also need to secure the health and the sustainability of the economy and to revive the travel and tourism sector which is the provision of livelihood to many thousands of people,” he said.