Malaysia will grant visa-free entry to citizens of China and India for stays of up to 30 days starting on Dec. 1, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said. Anwar made the announcement late on Sunday during a speech at his People's Justice Party congress. In a statement on Monday, Malaysia's Home Affairs Ministry said the visa exemptions would last until Dec. 31, 2024. China and India are Malaysia's fourth- and fifth-largest largest sources of tourists. FILE PHOTO: A supermoon rises over Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Thursday, Aug. 31, 2023. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian) Malaysia recorded 9.16 million tourist arrivals between January and June this year, with 498,540 from China and 283,885 from India, according to government data. That compares with 1.5 million arrivals from C...
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A new research shows that the increase in primate ecotourism is having a negative effect on monkey’s behaviour. The study, led by the University of Portsmouth, found that this fast-growing tourism sector where tourists can conveniently reach primates via motor boats is causing stress-related behaviours in monkeys. The research looked at the impact of a single engine motor boat approaching a community of proboscis monkeys, an endangered species living in a remote riparian area (strips of vegetation that border rivers, streams and lakes) in Sabah, Malaysia. Proboscis monkeys are unusual looking with their very long noses, which adds to making them appealing to tourists. Community of proboscis monkeys. Photo: Rudi Delvaux Many of these boats, carrying multiple tourists, approach ...
Read MoreMalaysia fully reopened its borders on Friday, dropping quarantine requirements for people vaccinated against COVID-19 after two years of strict travel restrictions. Stewardesses welcome a woman and toddler, as they disembark from an airplane from Jakarta, Indonesia at Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (KLIA2), in Sepang, Selangor, Malaysia, April 1, 2022. REUTERS/Hasnoor Hussain The Southeast Asian nation has maintained some of the tightest entry curbs in the region to try to contain coronavirus outbreaks, with most foreign nationals barred from entry and returning Malaysians required to undergo quarantine. A flight carrying 140 passengers from Indonesia to Kuala Lumpur was greeted with a water salute after touching down. "Because of the pandemic, it's been hard but finall...
Read MoreMalaysia will reopen its borders fully from April 1 and allow entry without quarantine for visitors vaccinated against COVID-19, Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said on Tuesday. Malaysia has since March 2020 maintained some of the tightest entry curbs in Asia to try to contain coronavirus outbreaks, with most foreign nationals barred from entry and returning Malaysians required to undergo quarantine. The Southeast Asian country will begin a transition to the endemic phase of COVID-19 from next month, Ismail Sabri said in a televised address. FILE PHOTO: People dine-in at a restaurant following social distancing measures, as Langkawi gets ready to open to domestic tourists, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, Malaysia. REUTERS/Lim Huey Teng The reopening follow...
Read MoreIndonesia, Malaysia to further ease COVID curbs on foreign visitors further
Indonesia is considering a quarantine waiver for foreign visitors to its holiday island of Bali from next week, officials said on Saturday, while neighbour Malaysia announced the removal of curbs on travellers from Thailand and Cambodia. Indonesia and Malaysia have imposed some of the strictest entry procedures in Asia to try to contain COVID-19 outbreaks and keep new variants at bay, but the restrictions have battered their tourism sectors. FILE PHOTO: An officer stands at Ngurah Rai International Airport as Indonesia's resort island of Bali reopens for international flights following border closures brought about by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in Badung, Bali, Indonesia. Antara Foto/Fikri Yusuf/via REUTERS The Indonesian waiver for visitors vaccinated against th...
Read MoreMalaysia's coronavirus recovery council on Tuesday said it has recommended a full reopening of borders as early as March 1 without mandatory quarantine for travellers, as part of plans to accelerate economic recovery. The Southeast Asian nation has shut its borders since March 2020 and froze the entry of foreign workers to try to contain novel coronavirus outbreaks. The recommendation comes as neighbours waive quarantine requirements to attract vaccinated tourists, including Thailand, the Philippines and Singapore. FFILE PHOTO: Esther Lee, Hidden Langkawi restaurant owner, cleans a table at her restaurant, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, Malaysia September 13, 2021. REUTERS/Lim Huey Teng Thailand on Monday said it was eyeing travel bubbles with Malaysia and C...
Read MoreSingapore and Malaysia will next week launch a quarantine-free travel lane at their land border crossing, one of the world's busiest, for people vaccinated against COVID-19, the two countries said on Wednesday. The plan, effective Nov. 29, expands an already announced move to start a travel lane for flights between Changi Airport and Kuala Lumpur International Airport from next week. FILE PHOTO: People pass the control tower of Singapore's Changi Airport, Singapore January 18, 2021. REUTERS/Edgar Su The land travel lane in the first phase will apply to citizens, permanent residents or long-term pass holders of the country they are entering, to allow people to visit families on the other side of the border, the office of Singapore's prime minister said in a statement. The lane ...
Read MoreMalaysia will reopen its borders to international visitors by Jan. 1 at the latest, a government advisory council said on Thursday, as the country seeks to revive its ailing tourism sector. The Southeast Asian country has gradually reopened its economy in recent weeks as coronavirus infection rates have slowed amid a ramped-up vaccination programme. More than three-quarters of Malaysia's 32 million population are vaccinated, government statistics show. FILE PHOTO: A tourist scans a QR code to check in upon arriving at the airport as Langkawi reopens to domestic tourists, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in Malaysia September 16, 2021. REUTERS/Lim Huey Teng Former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin, who chairs a council tasked with spearheading Malaysia's economic ...
Read MoreMalaysia on Sunday lifted interstate and international travel restrictions for residents fully vaccinated against COVID-19, as the country achieved its target of inoculating 90% of its adult population. Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the government has agreed to allow fully vaccinated Malaysians to travel overseas without applying for permission. The new rules take effect on Monday. FILE PHOTO: Tourists arrive at the airport as Langkawi reopens to domestic tourists, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, in Malaysia September 16, 2021. REUTERS/Lim Huey Teng The government is preparing to shift into an endemic COVID-19 phase where it will not impose wide lockdowns again if cases rise, Ismail Sabri told a news conference. "We have to train ourselves to liv...
Read MoreThe first plane carrying tourists in more than four months touched down on the Malaysian island of Langkawi on Thursday and was greeted by a twin water cannon "salute", in the launch of a programme to revive a travel sector frozen by the pandemic. The first batch of 159 travellers from the capital, Kuala Lumpur, arrived eager for a vacation after a monthslong, nationwide lockdown imposed to address one of Asia's highest per-capital coronavirus infection rates. Tourists arrive at the airport as Langkawi reopens to domestic tourists, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, in Malaysia September 16, 2021. REUTERS/Lim Huey Teng Known for its beaches, geoparks, bird life and impressive rock formations, Langkawi, a group of 99 islands, is the test case in a drive to allow vac...
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