Recently, it was reported that interstate travel may finally be allowed, likely in the first half of this month. This was said by National Recovery Council chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin after a council meeting last week. He added that interstate travel was possible in early October, or at the latest, the middle of the month.
While he did not elaborate on whether the standard operating procedures (SOP) for interstate travel would be similar to the Langkawi travel bubble SOP, he did say that Malaysians could start “making plans to travel the country” again soon.
Muhyiddin also mentioned that the council discussed the reopening of Malaysian borders for leisure and business tourists.
This means that tourism stakeholders in Malaysia must start working together to ensure that the industry rebounds fast … and furious. A virtual tourism solidarity event called X-Change Malaysia ’21 will be held later this month to help tourism players plan for a better industry restart.
Curated by Ab & Artho Tourism Marketing, with Nazsoft Tech, Traveloka, Global Chamber of Business Leaders (GCBL), PR Newswire and the Malaysian French Chamber of Commerce and Industry as its partners, X-Change Malaysia aims to help build confidence, power up ideas and create positive discussions via inspiring content involving tourism in Malaysia.
This is the first edition of a five-part series of X-Change Malaysia events; others are scheduled to take place the first quarter of 2022.
The programme takes place on Oct 21 and will see local and international guest panellists taking part in discourse segments and seminars. Some of these panellists include Elaine Daly (founder of LeadUp.Asia), Noredah Osman (general manager of Sabah Tourism Board and Pacific Asia Travel Association executive board member), Khairul Syahar (digital marketing strategist), Joe Sidek (festival organiser) and Enrique Nalda (co-founder of Red Visitor).
Representatives from the organisers including Adlina Borhan (CEO and co-founder of Ab & Artho), Aaishah Bohari (co-founder of Ab & Artho), Muhammad Nazrol Zawawi (CEO or Nazsoft Tech) and Angelica Chan (country market manager of Traveloka Malaysia) will also be sharing their ideas and insights during the event.
Meanwhile, the highlight will be the two keynote addresses, one from the director-general of Tourism Malaysia Datuk Zainuddin Wahab, and another from the chairman of GCBL, Dejan Stancer.
“The X-Change Malaysia ‘brand thinkers’ comprising top experts and intellectuals in the tourism industry will be contributing their expertise voluntarily to show solidarity in helping to revive and relaunch tourism in Malaysia,” said Adlina in a statement.
Traveloka’s Chan noted that because of the pandemic, travel consumers’ behaviour has changed.
“It is vital for us as industry players to swiftly shift and adjust our products to meet the changing demands. In addition, collaboration with various stakeholders also plays a crucial role to revive the domestic tourism post-pandemic,” she said.
Apart from the seminars and workshops, visitors and participants can also look forward to a trade mart and the X-Change Malaysia Travel Shop, where as many as 50 local suppliers and sellers will offer bespoke tourism products like exclusive accommodations, sports and leisure activities, health and wellness packages and gastronomic tours.
The event targets tourism stakeholders, travel professionals as well as key opinion leaders in the lifestyle, travel and tourism industry, both domestically and internationally.
For more information on the event, head to xchangemalaysia.abartho.com or you can follow them on their social media accounts (@xchangemalaysia on Twitter and Instagram).
