KUALA LUMPUR: From Sept 16, Langkawi will be welcoming domestic tourists from all states, including those still under Phase One of the National Recovery Plan (NRP).
Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri said this applies to adults who have been fully-vaccinated. Those under 18, she said, must be accompanied by fully-inoculated parents or guardians.
Tourists from areas under the Enhanced Movement Control Order (EMCO), however, are not permitted.
"Visitors to Langkawi must also comply with the standard operating procedures (SOP).
"They can travel via land or air. Those using land routes must use travel agencies to arrange transportation from their point of origin to the ferry jetty in Langkawi.
"Only tourists from Kedah and Perlis, as well as those coming by flight are not required to use the service of travel agencies.
"There is also no mandatory Covid-19 screening test nor insurance coverage," she said in a statement today.
Nancy said her ministry will also monitor the Langkawi travel bubble and gather feedback from the community involved in the programme within two weeks.
"The feedback will be evaluated and submitted to the National Security Council (NSC) for consideration, such as the opening of more tourist destinations.
"We would like to urge the public who wish to travel to Langkawi to continue adhering to the SOP in place to ensure that the Langkawi tourism bubble remains in the green zone and in turn, allow the opening of even more domestic tourism bubbles in the future," she said.
On the SOP for the Langkawi travel bubble, Nancy said tourists must show proof of travel such as flight tickets, ferry tickets, hotel receipts or travel package receipts when applying for permission with the police and when requested by any enforcement agency.
"These include one-day visits, overnight stays; holidays with pre-booked accommodation or admission bookings as well as tour packages through travel agencies licensed and registered with the ministry," she said.
She said the maximum number of passengers per vehicle for the trip will be subject to the vehicle's original capacity.
Visitors who need to adjust their travel schedule according to the ferry services hours to Langkawi are allowed to break their stay at ministry-registered premises in Kedah or Perlis.
Activities allowed in Langkawi include the use of facilities at hotels and homestays such as as surau, swimming pools, gymnasiums, lounges, halls, business events (MICE), and any tourism and cultural events subject to the Phase 4 general SOP issued by the National Security Council (NSC) as well as guidelines issued by relevant ministry, department and agency.
Also permitted are beach activities such as water sports, snorkeling, scuba diving, and fishing. Also allowed are visits to edutainment centers, recreation parks, extreme/ adventure/ nature parks, farms, aquariums, zoos and other leisure, recreational and social activities.
Also allowed are special interest tourism activities such as golfing, cycling, angling, yachting and others.
Eco geo-travel activities such as bird watching, caving, mountain climbing, white water rafting, hiking, jungle trekking; camping and others are also permitted.
Nancy said art, culture and heritage venues such as museums, libraries and art galleries, cultural heritage art centers/villages, cultural performances and others are also open to tourists.
She said theme parks and family entertainment centres including academic tours at the Geopark Discovery Center, Balai Seni and padi fields will also be allowed to resume starting Sept 16.