Jafry
KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah Tourism, Culture, and Environment Ministry is preparing to implement a travel bubble in the near future, allowing people to travel to the state from green zone areas.
Its minister, Jafry Ariffin, said this however would be dependent on the Covid-19 situation and until the state reaches the recovery movement control order (RMCO) stage.
“I hope the vaccination programme goes on smoothly and we successfully combat the Covid-19 pandemic so that the tourism sector can be re-mobilised to boost Sabah’s economy.
“The effective implementation of vaccination will be a key factor towards the reopening of borders and normalisation of international travel as well as tourism activities,” he said in a statement today.
In welcoming the government’s decision to reopen the tourism and cultural sector in conditional MCO areas, Jafry urged tourism players and tourists to always be aware of their health and to comply with all standard operating procedures (SOPs).
He said tourism activities and premises allowed to open with 50 per cent of the premises’ capacity are zoos, aquaria, edutainment centres, natural parks, extreme sports centres, recreational sports, and farm visits.
Others are libraries, museums, art galleries, cultural performance halls, family entertainment centres and outdoor theme parks.
“Tourism premises should be ready to receive visitors with proper preparation,” he said, adding the Covid-19 pandemic will continue to be around in an unpredictable period of time.
“Therefore, we need to remain disciplined in adopting new norms in conducting tourism activities to ensure the safety of individuals, families and communities.