LANGKAWI, MALAYSIA READY TO WELCOME FOREIGN TOURISTS

Malaysia is opening-up again to foreign visitors, starting with Langkawi island along the Malay Peninsula.

Malaysia is on the verge of reopening to the rest of the world. The country announced the date of November 15 for this. The country is taking a prudent approach, despite now having 75% of its population fully vaccinated.

Malaysia’s Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Nancy Shukri, announced that the resort destination of Langkawi (with 100 islands in its archipelago) will be the first to open to vaccinated tourists from a list of approved countries. The list is due to be published shortly.

The admission of foreign travellers into Langkawi follows a well-established protocol. The requirement includes a minimum three-day stay with proof of a negative PCR test result taken 72 hours before departure and a vaccination certificate.

Travellers will also be required to have insurance coverage of at least US$80,000 (eds. approx. €70,000) and to install the local “MySejahtera” tracing app on their phone. They will also need to show that they will engage with a local guide at least once.

Foreign tourists arriving at the main gateway of Kuala Lumpur International Airport are to undergo rapid testing before continuing their journey to Langkawi, while those flying directly to Langkawi will have to undergo PCR testing on the second day after their arrival.

Travellers staying for only three days can use their second day Covid-19 swab test to depart from Malaysia, while those staying for more than five days are to undergo a test on the fifth day.

All costs will be borne by the traveller.

The Langkawi travel bubble will be tested for three months. If the scheme is successful, more destinations will be reopened to foreign travellers.

Penang and other islands would likely be among the added destinations as well as Johor Bahru for travellers from Singapore.

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Photo – top of page – Langkawi Skybridge (Photo R Barnes / Cleverdis)