Allow Chinese tourists into the country but double up Covid measures, say experts
SYDI ALIF02 Jan 2023 08:00am
Chinese tourists are expected to leave China to celebrate Chinese New Year
Experts have also raised fears of another virus outbreak if authorities fail to take proper measures.
Al Medinah International University Financial Advisor Dr Barjoyai Bardai said that the service sector contributes 65 per cent of Malaysia's gross domestic product (GDP) and the main anchor is tourism which consists of three types, namely normal tourism, education tourism and health tourism.
He revealed that China is Malaysia's biggest market and tourist export is a value added for the nation's business and economy.
Due to that he suggested: "We should not just refuse tourists from China, but we should find a compromise in between."
In reference to the current rule by the Sarawak government which allows Chinese tourists to come in if they had been certified Covid-free when they boarded the flight, Dr Barjoyai proposed, "We should add another test upon their arrival and if they are found positive, we should not send them back.
"We should create a specific destination that is exclusively meant for them, and normally, they would want to be stationed at a beach resort and we should seal the resort only for those infected with Covid.
"We would manage them as tourists, but in a Covid environment," he elaborated noting that the tourists will not be disappointed and that the host country in return will get to sustain its economy.
The financial advisor further said: "We can bring this facility and services that are required by the tourists to that area."
For instance, he said Sunway Lagoon, hotel at KLIA or Palm Hotel in Sepang could be dedicated for tourists from China for a certain period of time.
Meanwhile, the visiting professor at Al Medinah International University also pointed the need to find a long-term solution.
Essentially, he said foreign tourists should be allowed into the country but proper measures must be in place to curb the virus to provent another 2020 incident.
On the other hand, Sunway University Business School Economics lecturer Professor Yeah Kim Leng called for new measures by the government to ensure that the country is not hit by new variants coming from the Chinese tourists.
Insisting that it is important to continue with the Covid test, he emphasised on the need for some measures taken to prevent virus transmission from outside to the local population.
The measure, he said could ensure that arriving tourists are not carrying virus and help to reduce the potential exposure on Malaysians or the introduction of new variants especially the seemingly more deadly ones coming from China.
"That could be one measure given that a large portion of the population has been vaccinated, so I think the restrictions need not be too restrictive," he opined.
Yeah also expressed support for the health ministry to encourage the use of face mask besides monitoring the transmissibility of the virus.
While he figured that some of the existing measures could be sufficient to contain the spread of the virus unlike the earlier episodes of transmission wave, Yeah added: "What is required is further monitoring and ensuring that all house protocols and safeguards are in place; continuing the test and ensuring those tested positive are isolated and perhaps undergo a quarantine or barred from coming to Malaysia until confirmed negative.
