PETALING JAYA: Visitors to Langkawi will not need to be tested for Covid-19, says tourism and culture minister Nancy Shukri.
The popular island destination will be opened to fully-vaccinated visitors from all states on Sept 16. Only those from EMCO areas are barred from visiting the island.
According to a Bernama report, Nancy also said private vehicles will not be allowed into the island and that visitors should use the services of travel agencies.
It was previously reported that visitors who travel overland must go through travel agents, at least for the journey from their starting point to the Langkawi ferry.
Two additional ferry services will be operational from Kuala Perlis. Passengers must show proof of vaccination when buying tickets and on entering the departure hall.
What is allowed:
>Daily (round trip on the same day) and overnight trips, pre-booked accommodation, and tour packages through a licensed travel company.
>Visitors who need to wait for the ferry to Langkawi can spend the night at registered premises in Kedah or Perlis.
>Visitors must show proof of purchase, such as flight or ferry tickets, hotel receipts or travel package receipts when applying for police permits to travel, and when requested by enforcement officers.
What is open:
Hotels and homestays, and facilities such as surau, swimming pool, gymnasium, lounge, hall, business events, tourism and cultural events; theme parks, cultural and heritage sites; sports and recreation.
What you can do:
>Beach activities, water sports, snorkelling, scuba diving, fishing tourism, edutainment, parks, farms, aquariums, zoos and other leisure, recreational and social activities;
>Special interest activities (golfing, scuba diving, cycling, angling, yachting, etc.);
>Ecotourism activities (bird watching, caving, mountain climbing, white water rafting, hiking, jungle trekking, camping and so on);
>Culture and heritage sites such as museums, libraries, art galleries, cultural heritage centre, cultural performances and others;
>Theme parks and family entertainment centres; and
>Educational tours such as Geopark Discovery Centre, art gallery, padi field.-FMT