PUTRAJAYA, Sept 10 — Travel agencies are allowed to operate with immediate effect, without having to register with the COVID-19 Intelligent Management System (CIMS), says Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri.
She said the matter decided in the Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob today, was to facilitate the Langkawi tourism bubble pilot project which begins Sept 16.
Nancy said the move would allow 5,335 registered travel agencies in the country to begin generating some income after being impacted for almost two years due to the pandemic.
“The government is always committed to revitalising the economy and ensuring the business continuity of the tourism and culture industry, especially in maintaining the jobs of those involved in the sector,” she said in a statement today.
Yesterday, the government announced that fully vaccinated domestic tourists from all over the country, except for those residing in areas placed under the Enhanced Movement Control Order (EMCO), would be allowed to visit Langkawi beginning Sept 16.
Meanwhile, Nancy said the government had channelled a special one-off assistance of RM3,000 to 2,899 travel agencies, involving an allocation of RM8.6 million, while payment to the remaining 2,436 travel agencies was still in process.
