Malaysia’s new prime minister says a regional travel bubble, including the ten members of the Association of Southeast-Asian Nations and China, would help business and tourism recover from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
Malaysia is already planning to reopen its resort islands to domestic visitors next month and hopes to open the country to foreign tourists next year.
Ismail Sabri Yaakob said on Friday ASEAN and China should consider the cross-border travel bubble for fully vaccinated tourists.
“By doing this, we will be in a much better position to revive not only the tourism industry, but also our people-to-people connectivity,” he said.
Some industry insiders have poured cold water on the plan. Beijing has said there will be no outbound travel from China until after the second quarter of next year, news agencies reported.
“So far Singapore and Hong Kong have announced travel bubble four times and cancelled each, and finally its dead in the water,” said Bill Barnett a Phuket, Thailand-based hospitality, tourism and real estate advisor.
“Forget bubbles, the Sandbox from Phuket is proven to be a model that works. Vietnam has announced that Phu Quoc will have a similar programme in October for international vaccinated travellers so for now, it’s all about islands, not bubbles,” he said.
The Malaysian PM’s comments came in a pre-recorded speech for the opening of the China-ASEAN Expo and China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit, held in Nanning, the capital of south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
Malaysia’s prime minister said the plan would not just help the tourism industry but also help businesses by keeping supply chains flowing to provide essential goods and services.
“This is critical for small and medium enterprises, which form the backbone of our economy,” Ismail Sabri said.
ASEAN overtook the European Union as China’s largest trading partner last year.
The ASEAN-China travel bubble would only apply to travellers who have received at least two Covid-19 vaccinations. Ismail Sabri said ASEAN and China should work on the mutual recognition of vaccine certificates.
ASEAN consists of, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. It is set to join China, Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership next year, creating the world’s biggest trade zone, with tariffs cut by as much as 90 percent on most products.
