KOTA KINABALU: Former State Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment, Datuk Christina Liew ( photo) supports the call by the President of the Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (Matta), Datuk Tan Kok Liang to hasten the vaccination of frontliners in the tourism industry under the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme.
The Tawau MP said this move will be in line with the Government’s efforts to revive domestic tourism in the country, prior to reopening its air borders to international tourists.
“Given the nature of their work, tourism frontliners are just as important as medical, military, security and media frontliners as the former have direct interaction with visitors and tourists.
“I concur with (Datuk) Tan that priority be given to this category of frontliners for the good of all stakeholders. A government that is caring, responsible and proactive will certainly set its priorities right in managing the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic,” she said in a statement on Friday.
Liew, who is also Api Api- Assemblywoman, said the Perikatan Nasional (PN) Government must prove its seriousness in pushing for recovery of the tourism industry that has been crippled by the pandemic.
Tourism frontliners comprise tour operators (including tour and travel agents), transporters (tour bus drivers and taxi-drivers), boatmen, tour and mountain guides, porters for mountain climbers as well as hotel frontliners (including customer service staff).
Liew also supported the Matta President’s call to the Federal Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture (MOTAC) to also prioritise other domestic tourism destinations such as Sabah under the “Green Bubbles” plan targeted at tourist destinations where herd immunity has been achieved.
“Undoubtedly, tourism was one of the main revenue earners for Sabah, being a premier tourist destination before the outbreak of COVID-19 in the state.”To achieve herd immunity, it is crucial to speed up the pace of vaccination in tourism hotspots in the State capital, Kundasang, Kudat, Sandakan, Tawau, Kunak and Semporna, among others,” she pointed out.
Liew recalled that Sabah topped the country in terms of tourist arrivals and tourism receipts in 2019.”On record, we had the highest number of international and domestic tourists that year, followed by Penang and Selangor,” she said.
Statistics from the Sabah Tourism Board (STB) indicated that in 2019, Sabah recorded a total of 4,195,903 tourist arrivals with estimated tourism receipts of RM9.01 billion, registering a growth by 8.1pc compared with RM8.34 billion in 2018.
On Thursday, Tan had urged the State Government to expedite vaccination for tourism-related frontliners, saying the tourism sector employs the most locals (Sabahans).
“It is imperative that this sector be prioritised. One of the key states that would benefit greatly from the ‘Green Bubbles’ plan is Sabah where economic activities are highly dependent on tourism,” he had said in a statement.
He stressed that Sabah’s tourism industry must begin its journey of recovery earlier, rather than waiting until the end of the year which could cause a total collapse of the local industry.
Liew recalled that Sabah topped the country in terms of tourist arrivals and tourism receipts in 2019.”On record, we had the highest number of international and domestic tourists that year, followed by Penang and Selangor,” she said.
Statistics from the Sabah Tourism Board (STB) indicated that in 2019, Sabah recorded a total of 4,195,903 tourist arrivals with estimated tourism receipts of RM9.01 billion, registering a growth by 8.1pc compared with RM8.34 billion in 2018.