RANAU: This weekend will be an indicator on the public's inclination to travel to the tourist destinations here.
The state government has allowed inter-district travel according to zones starting yesterday.
However, only fully vaccinated individuals residing in zone 1 can travel around Kota Kinabalu, Kota Belud, Ranau, Tuaran, Penampang and Putatan.
Ranau is one of the famous tourism gateways among locals especially for families with children.
Sabah Tea Resort general manager Martin Kong said as of yesterday, they had accepted reservations for at least six cottage rooms for the next few days.
"Walk-in visitors yesterday were much better, the number doubled from the previous day.
"This weekend will be a good indicator whether business will recover," he said.
In Kundasang, which is also known as "Little New Zealand", homestay operator Kohadie Koch Watiman said there was a slight increase in the number of visitors coming from other districts.
"Yesterday, I saw cars pulling over to take pictures of the scenery and the crowd at restaurants was bigger.
"As for the accommodation, the occupancy rate is about 10 per cent, where two out of 10 homestays were booked this week," he said, adding there are about 200 homestays in Kundasang.
Some of these accommodations are offering discounts of up to 30 per cent.
Kohadie, who is also Malaysia Kampungstay and Homestay Association deputy president, said the number of visitors might increase should the government allow vaccinated family members to bring their young children.
Meanwhile, in Kiulu near Tuaran, campsite and water rafting operator Lasmen Lopog received overwhelming response for bookings including from other districts.
"The response is not bad, but we have to put a limit to control the crowd that comes here.
"The limit is supposed to be 50 pax but we only allow 30 people to stay overnight," he said, adding his site has four mini chalets and six open huts.