Provisional 2021 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship

 

The FIM Asia Road Racing Championship is excited to release a provisional calendar for the 2021 season comprising of six rounds.

In a cautious move to give plenty of buffer for any lingering pandemic-related travel restrictions, the 2021 season will start late, beginning only in June.

The Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia is expected to host the first two season openers with Round 1 taking place from June 4 to 6, followed quickly by Round 2 from June 11 to 13, 2021. The circus will then travel to the Zhuhai International Circuit in China for Round 3 from July 30 to August 1 followed by the fourth leg at The Bend Motorsport Park in Australia from September 23 to 26. Two more consecutive rounds at the Chang International Circuit in Thailand will wrap up the season with Round 5 scheduled from November 19 to 21 followed by the season finale from November 26 to 28, 2021.

Ron Hogg, Director, Two Wheels Motor Racing

“2020 has been a challenging year for all sporting events. As the promoters of the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship, we are grateful to all the racing teams and our corporate partners for their kind understanding and support,” said Ron Hogg, Director of Two Wheels Motor Racing.

“While the calendar is still subject to more changes, we are really looking forward to a great comeback season in 2021.”

Stephan Carapiet, President, FIM Asia

“The FIM Asia is very excited to get the action going again. We believe that a 6-round championship in 2021 will be a great way to get the ball rolling. Here at the FIM Asia, we are fully committed to the success of the comeback year and pledge our support to all the stakeholders as they work together to make this happen.”

PROVISIONAL 2021 CALENDAR

Round 1  Sepang International Circuit, MALAYSIA  June 4 to 6, 2021

Round 2  Sepang International Circuit, MALAYSIA  June 11 to 13, 2021

Round 3  Zhuhai International Circuit, CHINA  July 30 to August 1, 2021

Round 4  The Bend Motorsport Park, AUSTRALIA  September 23 to 26, 2021

Round 5  Chang International Circuit, THAILAND  November 19 to 21, 2021

Round 6  Chang International Circuit, THAILAND  November 26 to 28, 2021

Note:

·This calendar is subject to further changes.

·Dates mentioned are start of Free Practice day

-http://asiaroadracing.com/

MHholidays Launches Trips and Tours to Offer Over 40,000 Activities, Attractions and Experiences Worldwide

 

KLIA, 30 November 2020: MHholidays, the tour operating arm of Malaysia Airlines, today launched its latest product called Trip and Tours, to serve all its customers’ travelling needs by offering a wide selection of activities, attractions and experiences in addition to the existing flights and hotel packages.

 

The new feature adds greater flexibility and convenience for customers to personalize their travel with over 40,000 best selection of travel experiences worldwide. These include trips, concerts, attractions, museums, and excursions across 1,000 international and domestic cities within and beyond the airline's network. The timely launch is also in support of the recently announced "Green Travel Bubble Initiative" by the Malaysian Government to revive domestic travel and tourism sectors. There are over 100 new activities and attractions on offer across 12 domestic cities Malaysia Airlines flies to.

 

These attractions include a coral island escapade to discover the beautiful marine life and corals in West Malaysia’s only Marine Park in Pulau Payar, a full-day tour to Kinabalu Park and the Poring Hot Spring to enjoy a hot sulphur bath in Sabah, to spending the whole day observing the local wildlife and its beautiful rainforests in Boko National Park in Kuching, Sarawak, to name a few.

 

On top of that MHholidays also offers various theme park tickets like Sunway Lagoon, Desaru Coast Waterpark, Aquaria KLCC, Menara KL Tower and many more with optional round-trip hotel transfer. Customers can take advantage of up to 25% discount on bundle packages that include the flight, hotel and activities when purchasing from MHholidays.

 

According to Malaysia Airlines Berhad’s Group Chief Marketing and Customer Experience Officer Lau Yin May, "The introduction of Trips and Tours further builds on MHholidays' aim of making travel seamless by providing an all-in-one travel booking experience leveraging on technology. Currently, MHholidays packages are only available for MH operated flights, and we are working towards expanding it to include Firefly codeshare flights in 2021.

 

In line with our Fly Malaysia campaign, the MHholidays' Trips and Tours highlights the amazing attractions we have across our nation while playing our part to support the revival of domestic tourism travel by curating safe, secure and amazing experiences for all our customers."

 

The latest feature allows customers to book their preferred travel experience any time, even at the last minute, from the best selection available, including skip-the-line options at the most iconic top attractions worldwide.

 

Looking for a fresh experience or new attraction to enjoy during your next holiday? Head to the MHholidays at holidays.malaysiaairlines.com to find the next unforgettable travel memory! To make sure you never miss out on great deals like these as well as our many exciting and exclusive promotions, download the Malaysia Airlines app today!

-Malaysia Airlines.

Travel bubble for safe domestic holidays

 

The government has introduced a green zone domestic travel bubble beginning Nov 20 and the Domestic Travel Bubble Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) were approved on Nov 23.

KUALA LUMPUR: Domestic tourism has been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The sector contributes greatly to the economy, recording an expenditure of RM92.6 billion in 2019, according to the Tourism Satellite Account data from the Department of Statistics.

To revitalise and invigorate the sector, Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri recently announced the Domestic Travel Bubble, which will allow people to safely travel between green zones.

The government has introduced a green zone domestic travel bubble beginning Nov 20 and the Domestic Travel Bubble Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) were approved on Nov 23.

The SOP for the initiative, which were prepared by the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry (MOTAC) and jointly approved by the Health Ministry and the National Security Council (MKN), can be found on the ministry's website, www.motac.gov.my and on its social media platforms.

This initiative allows movement between green zones, meaning people from green zones can travel to other green zones in the country.

Nancy said this was a strategy under the Tourism Recovery Plan, which covers three strategies; firstly, to restore people's confidence to travel; secondly, to revive and invigorate domestic tourism or "Reviving Domestic Tourism"; and thirdly, to identify all tourism products and increase more creative offerings by maximising resources.

As part of the bubble, the government has come up with incentives and offers for accommodation and transportation, and discounts for local handicrafts.

These include offers on accommodation packages in collaboration with the Malaysian Association of Hotels, which will be offered on the Shopee e-market platform.

"Consumers only need to buy a minimum accommodation package of three day, two night, to redeem a rebate voucher of RM50 and RM100 based on the category of hotel purchased. A total of 43,983 rooms have been targeted for sale through this campaign.

"A total of RM250,000 will be allocated as an incentive for the first 12,500 users who have made a three day, two night accommodation package purchase to enjoy a cash e-voucher of RM20 that can be used to purchase other items in Shopee."

This campaign targets Malaysian citizens and the duration of this campaign is from December to February.

In collaboration with the Malaysian Budget Hotel Association (MyBHA), selected three star hotels registered with the ministry will be allowed to participate in the "Jom Nginap" and "Malaysia Welcomes You" campaigns.

The "Jom Nginap" campaign offers a cashback of RM20 via Touch 'n Go for each minimum transaction of RM50. This offer will run from Dec 31 to March and is limited to the 62,500 bookings.

The "Malaysia Welcomes You" campaign in collaboration with Touch 'n Go will offer a rebate of RM20 for the booking period from April to June 2021, and is limited to 62,500 bookings.

MOTAC secretary general Datuk Dr Noor Zari Hamad said the ministry's incentives also involved local airlines such as Malaysia Airline Berhad (MAS), Air Asia, Firefly and Malindo Air under the Cuti-Cuti Malaysia campaign, which will offer discounts of RM50 each way for economy and business class flights.

The booking period for Malaysia Airlines will run until Dec 3 and the travel period is from November to June 2021.

The booking period for Firefly is until Dec 8 and the travel period is until October 2021. The offer is valid for 9,000 seats.

Air Asia is offering a rebate voucher of RM50 for ticket purchases with a target of 24,000 people. Malindo Air is offering a limited discount of RM50 to 6,000 users with the earliest registration. The campaign for Air Asia starts on Nov 30 and Malindo starts on Dec 9.

All airlines will implement advertising and promotional activities for this campaign, including displaying the "Cuti-Cuti Malaysia" logo in existing advertising mediums as well as on social media accounts, such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Initiatives in the services, transportation and private companies segment are in collaboration with Prasarana through the MY30 Pass (Buy 1 free 1) campaign, which is scheduled to start from Dec 7 to March 2021.

This pass is offered to the first 5,000 users where each purchase of the MY30 pass will be given another free pass in the form of a voucher and can be redeemed for the following month. With the MY30 pass, users can enjoy unlimited RapidKL Rail (LRT / MRT / Monorail, Bus and BRT Network rides for 30 days.

A sum of RM500,000 has been allocated for the purchase of craft products at Karyaneka outlets, a subsidiary of Kraftangan Malaysia. Users are eligible to enjoy a discount of RM30.00 for every purchase of a minimum of RM100.00.

This offer starts from Nov 24.Tourism Malaysia has launched a package for civil servants as a tribute to their service during the pandemic.

The campaign is underway in the central region and will be expanded to other regions for the period December to March. To date, 427 packages have been offered for tourist locations nationwide.

Reservations can be made from now on and civil servants can enjoy their package from Dec 1.Up to October, RM115,549 worth of packages were recorded through this Civil Servant Package Campaign.

Nancy reminded those living in the green zones to travel safely according to the SOP set. "Let us prove that we can fight Covid-19 and travel responsibly to redevelop the tourism economy, which has gone through great challenges this year.

"I would like to call on the players of the tourism industry to come up with attractive package offers while maintaining the SOP to ensure the sustainability of the tourism economy, which is one of the major contributors to the economy.

Programmes and initiatives that have been designed are expected to help revitalise the domestic tourism sector with the cooperation of each local tourism player towards the recovery and economic development of the country.

"I also recommend using the services of local travel agents and urge Malaysians to take advantage of the packages offered by local tour operators. I hope travel agents take advantage of this initiative to offer more innovative packages.

"I would like to invite the public to refer to the Tourism Malaysia website at www.malaysia.travel for inspiration on travel trips as well as attractive domestic attractive packages.

-nst online.

Sabah hopeful of making Unesco listing for Kinabalu Geopark in 2021

 

A dossier submission for Kinabalu Geopark to be listed in the UNESCO. - NSTP/ courtesy of Felix Tongkul

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah will submit a dossier on the Kinabalu Geopark in hopes it will make the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) list.

Universiti Malaysia Sabah professor Dr Felix Tongkul said that the compilation of documents involving the park had just been completed.

"It will be submitted by the end of this month. If the dossier is accepted, then we will be evaluated by UNESCO sometime in the middle of next year.

"If everything goes well, we should get the title (Unesco Global Geoparks) by the end of next year," the geologist told the New Straits Times.

Felix, who is also a member of the state Tourism, Culture and Environment Ministry's Promotion and Development Committee for the Aspiring Kinabalu Geopark, said that the park covers an approximately 3,500 square kilometre site involving the districts of Ranau, Kota Marudu, and Kota Belud.

An area has to be declared as a national park before it could be proposed as a UNESCO heritage site.

"We received the national geopark status this year, sometime in March. However, this was not officially announced.

"One of the key principles of (the recognition of) a geopark is the involvement of local communities so they can benefit directly from it," he added.

The Kinabalu Unesco Global Geopark Site would place Sabah on the world map and boost tourism growth, as well as bring about socio-economic benefits to local communities.

Previously, Felix was reported as saying that the geopark would not affect the daily activities of residents staying in the area and surrounding districts.

The residents would be given guidelines on the importance of the park and also ways to generate income via eco-tourism activities.

-nst online.

Tourism Malaysia Organization Chart - Updated

 

-Tourism Malaysia.

MOTAC Gerakkan Pelan Pemulihan Dengan Kerjasama Penggiat Industri Bangunkan Semula Industri Pelancongan Negara

 

PUTRAJAYA, 23 NOVEMBER 2020: Kementerian Pelancongan, Seni dan Budaya (MOTAC) pada hari ini mengumumkan perincian pelan pemulihan pelancongan bagi merancakkan semula ekonomi negara melalui sektor pelancongan yang terkesan dengan wabak pandemik Covid-19.

Menteri Pelancongan, Seni dan Budaya, YB Dato’ Sri Hajah Nancy Shukri berkata bahawa MOTAC melalui agensinya, Lembaga Penggalakan Pelancongan Malaysia (Tourism Malaysia) akan menggerakkan pelan pemulihan pelancongan tersebut melalui Pakej Rangsangan Ekonomi (PRE) dengan melibatkan kerjasama penggiat-penggiat industri pelancongan negara.

Tiga teras utama pelan pemulihan yang telah digariskan di bawah strategi pemulihan tersebut dijangka akan menyemarakkan semula pelancongan domestik:

1. Mengembalikan Keyakinan untuk Melancong

2. Menyemarakkan Pelancongan Domestik

3. Memaksimumkan Sumber Sedia Ada

Program yang telah dikenalpasti untuk menggerakkan industri pelancongan tempatan adalah dengan melibatkan kerjasama dengan semua pemain industri seperti syarikat penerbangan, pengangkutan dan badan bukan kerajaan dalam industri pelancongan seperti Persatuan Hotel Malaysia (MAH) dan Persatuan Hotel Bajet (MyBHA).

Sehubungan dengan itu, beberapa program yang telah sedia untuk digerakkan adalah seperti berikut:

a) Kerjasama TM, MAH dan e-market platform untuk mempromosikan pakej-pakej penginapan bagi menggalakan pelancongan domestik dan membantu hotel-hotel di bandar yang terkesan teruk akibat penularan Covid-19;

b) Tourism Malaysia akan menjalin kerjasama dengan penggiat industri melalui segmen perkhidmatan, pengangkutan dan syarikat swasta iaitu Prasarana bagi menggalakkan pergerakan inter dan intra di kalangan pelancong domestik dan penggunaan perkhidmatan pengangkutan awam; dan

c) Kerjasama dengan MyBHA bagi hotel bajet(3 bintang ke bawah) yang terpilih dan aktif mengikut negeri dan keutamaan akan diberikan kepada ahli yang berdaftar dengan MOTAC melalui kempen ‘Jom Nginap’ dan ‘Malaysia Welcomes You’.

d) Kempen ‘Cuti-Cuti Malaysia’ dengan kerjasama syarikat penerbangan seperti Malaysia Airlines Berhad (MAB), Firefly, Air Asia dan Malindo Air bagi meningkatkan kesalinghubungan ke lokasi percutian di dalam negara untuk merangsang pelancongan domestik;

e) Diskaun Pembelian Produk Kraf di Outlet Karyaneka untuk menggalakkan penjualan kraftangan Malaysia.

Mekanisme yang dicadangkan merupakan pemberian baucar/diskaun/rebat tunai yang akan memberi manfaat secara terus kepada rakyat Malaysia. Inisiatif ini merupakan salah satu usaha Kerajaan bagi meningkatkan penggunaan teknologi digital di kalangan rakyat melalui pembelian/tempahan atas talian, penggunaan aplikasi mobil dan penebusan e-baucar tunai.

“MOTAC menyambut baik keputusan keputusan kerajaan yang telah membenarkan gelembung perjalanan domestik antara zon-zon hijau di Malaysia. Oleh itu, kami berharap rakyat akan mengambil peluang untuk melancong dengan selamat dan sentiasa mematuhi SOP di dalam norma baharu sepanjang perjalanan,” kata Menteri itu.

YB Dato’ Sri Hajah Nancy Shukri juga menyeru pemain industri pelancongan supaya sentiasa menampilkan tawaran-tawaran pakej menarik di samping menjaga SOP dengan norma baharu bagi memastikan kelestarian ekonomi pelancongan yang merupakan salah satu penyumbang besar ekonomi negara. 

Program serta inisiatif yang telah dirangka diharap dapat membantu menaikkan semula sektor pelancongan domestik dengan kerjasama dari setiap pihak industri pelancongan tempatan ke arah pemulihan dan kemajuan ekonomi negara.

-Tourism Malaysia.

6,000 e-travel vouchers from Malindo Air up for grabs

 

Malindo Air is launching its "Jom Cuti-Cuti" campaign by offering RM50 e-travel vouchers to 6,000 Malaysians for the purchase of flight tickets to any destination within Malaysia. - NSTP file pic

KUALA LUMPUR: Malindo Air is launching its "Jom Cuti-Cuti" campaign by offering RM50 e-travel vouchers to 6,000 Malaysians for the purchase of flight tickets to any destination within Malaysia.

The airline said today the move was in support of the Stimulus Recovery Plan initiated by the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry to reinvigorate the national economy.

The RM50 e-travel vouchers will be made available as follows:

* Voucher registration period: Nov 25 until Dec 15, 2020

* Validity travel period: Nov 25, 2020 until March 31, 2021

* Voucher redemption: available at www.malindoair.com 14 days from the issuance date of voucher

* Eligibility: Malaysians with valid NRIC. One voucher per NRIC

"The tourism-related industry continues to be one of the sectors hardest hit by the pandemic crisis, and the outlook for a full recovery is extraordinarily uncertain," Malindo Air chief executive officer Captain Mushafiz Mustafa Bakri said in a statement.

He said the ministry's initiative was very timely while the nation waits for international borders to reopen.

"Our primary hope in this campaign is to get people to start travelling again safely, albeit domestically. The ministry has taken impressive action to restore and reactivate the industry.

"The survival of businesses throughout the tourism ecosystem is already at risk," he said.

Mushafiz said, with the Stimulus Recovery Plan, the move by the ministry would cushion any further blows to the industry.

-nst online.

Malaysian healthcare providers take consultations online to reverse medical tourism slump

 

Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council’s Sherene Azli projects medical tourism receipts to fall significantly in 2020 over 2019

Malaysia’s medical travel sector is turning to tele-consultation and digital services to provide continuity in foreign patient care as travel restrictions suppress medical tourist arrivals and dent hospital revenue.

Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council (MHTC) CEO, Sherene Azli, anticipates a 70 per cent reduction in hospital receipts to between RM500 million (US$122.3 million) and RM600 million by this year-end – a shadow of 2019’s performance. Last year was a record-breaking year for Malaysia’s medical tourism sector, with some 1.3 million medical traveller arrivals on record, making the country the top destination for medical tourism in the world.

Nadiah Wan, CEO, Thomson Hospital Kota Damansara and group CEO of TMC Life Sciences, explained that medical tourism arrivals were reduced due to tight border controls and travel restrictions that have also translated into stricter government requirements that medical travellers have to abide by as well as complex logistics and safety measures that medical facilities must undertake.

Speaking on the Collaboration for an agile future in healthcare travel panel during the insighHT2020 virtual conference organised by MHTC, Nadiah added that the pandemic has also altered the profile of medical tourists to Malaysia. Prior to the pandemic, Thomson Hospital used to receive customers mainly from South-east Asia seeking fertility treatment, which is an elective procedure. Today, medical travellers are approaching the hospital for critical procedures such as brain or cardiovascular surgeries.

Fellow speaker, Ronald Koh, president/CEO, Penang Adventist Hospital, said the pandemic and travel crisis have put private hospitals in Penang, a top medical tourism destination in Malaysia, on “survival mode”.

To reverse the slide in foreign customers, Penang Adventist Hospital has invested in digital solutions to allow doctors to conduct tele-consultations with patients who are unable to travel to Penang for treatment, as well as to prescribe digitally, receive virtual payments and deliver medicines to the homes of foreign patients.

Stanley Lam, CEO of Mahkota Medical Centre in Melaka, noted a mindshift among doctors who have learnt to adapt and use online platforms for tele-consultations.

On its part, MHTC is helping to drive a rebound in the industry through a three-prong strategy: aggressive publicity and branding campaigns showcasing Malaysia’s excellence in healthcare while at the same time building trust and new partnerships; providing support and facilitating end-to-end infrastructure including the adoption of digitalisation; and thirdly, building Malaysia as a thought leader in medical tourism.

-TTG Asia.

Malaysia Airlines Launches Special Incentive Program in Supporting Domestic Travel Bubbles

 

KLIA, 23 November 2020: In support of the Government’s Domestic Green Travel Bubbles initiative to boost domestic tourism, Malaysia Airlines will be offering a special incentive programme dedicated to fellow Malaysians to promote local travels, under the Cuti-cuti Malaysia Campaign.

 

From today until 8 December 2020, customers will enjoy the stimulus package incentive in the form of subsidized airline tickets for all domestic travels via Malaysia Airlines, which is eligible for travel from 23 November 2020 until 30 June 2021. It is exclusively available for all bookings made on http://malaysiaairlines.com/cuticutimalaysia.

 

Under the programme, customers can claim a discount of up to RM200 on Malaysia Airlines' Economy and Business Class normal fares to all local destinations. Customers will need to sign up as an Enrich member to proceed with the booking. As a special giveaway, customers are also entitled to 500 Bonus Enrich Miles, which will be credited after the flight completes.

 

Malaysia Airlines Berhad's Group Chief Marketing and Customer Experience Officer, Lau Yin May said, "Malaysia Airlines is delighted to support the government’s effort to revive our domestic travel and tourism via the stimulus incentive as well as through our various marketing initiatives and product improvements.

 

We remain optimistic that domestic travel and tourism will recover quicker with all parties jointly playing their part in upholding all safety and health measures related to COVID-19 when travelling.

 

Via our Fly Confidently campaign, we have been working tirelessly to elevate safety and health measures at each of our customer and operational touchpoints to ensure that our passengers can enjoy a safer and comfortable journey with us. We assure customers that their safety and well-being remain of utmost importance to us."

 

In line with the programme, MHholidays, the tour operating arm of Malaysia Airlines will also be offering up to 25% off discount on flight + hotel packages on domestic destinations from starting from 23 November until 8 December for travel until 30 June 2021.

 

Head on to malaysiaairlines.com to get more information and book for your next Fly Malaysia experience! To make sure you never miss out on great deals like these, as well as the many more exciting promotions and exclusives we have in store, download the Malaysia Airlines app today!

-Malaysia Airlines.

MOTAC failed to address plight of travel agencies

 

PAPUH president Datuk Razali Mohd Sham said that the announcement did not take into account the interests of the travel agencies under the ministry’s jurisdiction. - NSTP/INTAN NUR ELLIANA ZAKARIA

KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysia Umrah and Haj Travel Agency Association (PAPUH) today said the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry (MOTAC) had failed to assist the travel agencies.

Although it welcomed the latest initiatives for domestic tourism between green zones, PAPUH president Datuk Razali Mohd Sham said that the announcement did not take into account the interests of the travel agencies under the ministry's jurisdiction.

He lamented that the ministry seemed to have lost its direction in assisting the travel agencies.

He said the ministry should do more including boosting the domestic packages rather than dumping vouchers and discounts for the domestic tourists.

"MOTAC should be more sensitive of our problems as the pandemic has affected us greatly and some of our members have gone belly up.

"The minister herself has stated that 204 tour operators have ceased their businesses since March this year," he said in a statement.

Razali urged the ministry to help the tour agencies as they desperately needed the ministry's help and should not wait for things to get worse.

He stressed that Tourism Industry Act 1992 was drafted to protect the interests of travel agencies and tour guides in Malaysia.

It was reported MOTAC had rolled out plans for domestic tourism between green zones which began on Sunday.

The Stimulus Recovery Plan (SRP) is to reinvigorate the tourism sectors impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Under the SRP, the ministry will be carrying out programmes through strategic collaborations and partnerships with airline companies and other tourism related agencies.

These include services and hospitality and transportation such as Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH) and Malaysian Budget Hotel Association (MyBHA).

-nst online.

IATA Travel Pass Key in final development phase

 

IATA Travel Pass will manage and verify the secure flow of necessary testing or vaccine information among governments, airlines, laboratories and travellers

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) Travel Pass, a digital health passport that will support the safe reopening of borders, is now in the final phase of development and will see its first cross-border pilot later this year as well as a launch slated for 1Q2021.

As governments begin to rely on testing as a replacement of quarantine measures to limit the risks of Covid-19 importation when reopening their borders to travellers, the IATA Travel Pass will support the procedure by managing and verifying the secure flow of necessary testing or vaccine information among governments, airlines, laboratories and travellers.

The IATA Travel Pass incorporates four open sourced and interoperable modules which can be combined for an end-to-end solution. The first module covers a global registry of health requirements, which enables passengers to find accurate information on travel, testing and eventually vaccine requirements for their journey.

The second covers a global registry of testing / vaccination centre, enabling passengers to find testing centres and labs at their departure location which meet the standards for testing and vaccination requirements of their destination.

The third module takes in the Lab App, which enables authorised labs and test centres to securely share test and vaccination certificates with passengers.

Lastly, the Contactless Travel App enables passengers to create a digital passport; receive test and vaccination certificates and verify that they are sufficient for their itinerary; and share testing or vaccination certificates with airlines and authorities to facilitate travel. This app can also be used by travellers to manage travel documentation digitally and seamlessly throughout their journey, improving travel experience.

IATA Travel Pass is based on industry standards and IATA’s proven experience in managing information flows around complex travel requirements. IATA’s Timatic, which is used by most airlines to manage compliance with passport and visa regulations, is the base for the global registry and verification of health requirements.

IATA’s One ID initiative, which was endorsed by a resolution at its 75th Annual General Meeting in 2019 to securely facilitate travel processes with a single identity token, is the base for the IATA Contactless Travel App.

IATA and International Airlines Group (IAG) have been working together in the development of this solution and will undertake a trial to demonstrate that this platform combined with Covid-19 testing can reopen international travel and replace quarantine.

“Today borders are double locked. Testing is the first key to enable international travel without quarantine measures. The second key is the global information infrastructure needed to securely manage, share and verify test data matched with traveler identities in compliance with border control requirements. That’s the job of IATA Travel Pass. We are bringing this to market in the coming months to also meet the needs of the various travel bubbles and public health corridors that are starting operation,” said Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s director general and CEO.

Nick Careen, IATA senior vice president, airport, passenger, cargo and security, commented: “Our main priority is to get people travelling again safely. In the immediate term that means giving governments confidence that systematic Covid-19 testing can work as a replacement for quarantine requirements. And that will eventually develop into a vaccine programme. The IATA Travel Pass is a solution for both.”

Careen explained that the IATA Travel Pass’s interoperability will allow it to be used in combination with other providers or as a standalone end-to-end solution.

Throughout the travel and tourism crisis, IATA has advocated the use of rapid, accurate, affordable, easy-to-operate, scalable and systematic Covid-19 testing for all passengers before departure as an alternative to restrictive quarantine measures in order to re-establish global air connectivity.

Earlier in June, Juniac had expressed: “Imposing quarantine measures on arriving travelers keeps countries in isolation and the travel and tourism sector in lockdown.”

-TTG Asia.

MOTAC Rolls Out Recovery Plan In Collaboration With Industry Players To Revive Malaysia’s Tourism Sector

 

PUTRAJAYA, 23 NOVEMBER 2020: The Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture announced a detailed recovery plan in its efforts to reinvigorate the national economy through the tourism sector that had been impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, YB Dato’ Sri Hajah Nancy Shukri said that the recovery plan will be carried out by its agency, Tourism Malaysia, through the Stimulus Recovery Plan (PRE) with the support and active engagement with various agencies and industry players to revive the national economy through its tourism sector.

Three main cores under the stimulus recovery plan had been outlined as part of the “quick win” strategies are estimated to boost the domestic tourism campaign:

1.Restore Confidence to Travel

2.Revive Domestic Tourism

3.Maximize Resources

The programmes which had been identified to revive the domestic tourism industry focus on strategic collaborations and smart partnerships with airline companies, other tourism-related agencies including services/hospitality, transportation and private companies as well as collaborations with non-government organisations (NGOs) such as Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH), and Malaysia Budget Hotel Association (MyBHA).

The programmes which will be ready for implementation are as follows:

a) Partnerships with MAH and e-market platforms to promote holiday and hotel packages in order to increase hotel occupancy especially those located in city centres that had recorded low occupancies due to the pandemic

b) Collaboration with MyBHA to assist selected budget hotels (3 stars and below) across the country with emphasis on premises which are registered with MOTAC through ‘Jom Nginap’ and ‘Malaysia Welcomes You’ campaigns;

c) ‘Cuti-Cuti Malaysia’ campaign with the cooperation of airline companies such as Malaysia Airlines Berhad (MAB), Firefly, Air Asia and Malindo Air to increase connectivity to holiday destinations in the country to encourage domestic tourism;

d) Tourism Malaysia will collaborate with industry players in the service and transportation segments, and as well as with the private sector such as Prasarana to induce demand for inter and intra travels amongst domestic tourists and increase the use of public transport service; and

e) Collaboration with Karyaneka to offer discounts on craft products to boost sales and drive up demand for Malaysian crafts.

The suggested mechanism for the programme is by offering vouchers/discounts/cash rebates that will bring direct impact to the domestic consumers. This is one of the government’s initiatives to promote the use of digital technology through online orders and purchases, the use of mobile applications and the redemption of cash e-vouchers.

“MOTAC welcomes the government’s decision to allow domestic travel bubble between green zones in Malaysia. We hope that the rakyat will use the opportunity to travel responsibly and always adhere to the SOPs and the new norms while traveling,” said YB Dato’ Sri Hajah Nancy Shukri.

The minister calls upon the tourism industry players to continue their efforts to introduce attractive packages periodically to maintain public interest, as well as to abide by the SOPs that have been outlined by the health authorities to inculcate the new norms to ensure the sustainability of the tourism economy which is one of the biggest economic contributors of the country. The Minister hopes that the programmes and initiatives that have been planned will help revive the domestic tourism sector with effective collaboration between all relevant parties towards the recovery of the national economy.

-Tourism Malaysia.