KUCHING: Sarawak is on track and on point with the management of the Covid-19 pandemic within the state to be well placed to open its domestic tourism within the year, said the Retail and Trade Brands Advocacy Malaysia Chapter (RTBA Malaysia).
RTBA Malaysia managing director Datuk Fazli Nordin said even though the pandemic had caused devastating impact on global and regional economies, the Sarawak Disaster Management Committee’s (SDMC) vigilance and watchfulness, coupled with the Sarawakians’ collective understanding, had enabled the state to weather the storm.
“The reopening of Sarawak borders for fully vaccinated individuals demonstrates the effectiveness of the measures implemented by the state, and further solidifies the state’s commitment to manage the pandemic,” he said in a statement today.
He said the tourism sector in Sarawak has remained persistent and resilient throughout the pandemic, implementing initiatives to ensure frontliners in the tourism industry were vaccinated and ready to receive tourists to allow Sarawak to establish itself as a safe ‘green travel bubble’ destination.”
As of Sept 23, he said Sarawak had fully vaccinated 64.8 per cent of its total population that includes its tourism frontliners and also becoming the first state to be rolling out vaccinations for its adolescent population aged between 12 and 17.
“This puts Sarawak very much ahead in its vaccination status. Furthermore, the use of EnterSarawak, an online travel application to enter Sarawak, the vaccination certicate through MySejahtera, as well as filling out an e-Health Declaration Form (eHDF) will boost travellers’ confidence when the tourism sector reopens.
“RTBA strongly believes that the state is poised to be the leading destination for eco-tourism in the ASEAN region, driven by empowered communities to conserve heritage, culture and biodiversity. We should leverage on these opportunities as the initiatives put in place today will shape the tourism of tomorrow,” he added.
RTBA is a non-governmental organisation for advocating effective regulatory, financial and taxation policies affecting retailers and brand headquartered in Victoria, Australia with RTBA Malaysia being one of its subdivisions. – Bernama
