TravTalk Middle East Online Magazine
Malaysia is all set to welcome back international travelers after the government announced the full reopening of its borders for the first time after nearly two years of COVID-19 pandemic-related closures as the nation is transitioning to endemic phase, beginning 1 April 2022.
Fully-vaccinated travellers can enjoy quarantine-free travel and are only required to take the COVID-19 RT-PCR test two days before departure and undergo professionally administered RTK-Ag within 24 hours upon arrival in Malaysia. To ease the entry process to Malaysia, travellers with valid travel documents can enter Malaysia by downloading and activating the MySejahtera contact tracing app (from Apple App Store, Google Play Store or Huawei AppGallery) and completing the pre-departure form under the ‘Traveller’ icon without the need to apply for MyTravelPass, which will be abolished.
However, international travellers who are not fully vaccinated must undergo five-day quarantine upon arrival. Meanwhile, children and young people aged 12 to 17 are allowed for quarantine-free entry and only need to undergo professionally administered COVID-19 RTK-Ag within 24 hours upon arrival in Malaysia. The use of face masks in public places and MySejahtera check-in at premises remain in place as standard practice under the endemic phase, especially in confined areas with large crowds. The government also set out the return of full-capacity activities even though physical distancing would still be encouraged.
YB Dato’ Sri Hajah Nancy Shukri, Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture Malaysia said, “We are delighted with the latest government’s announcement for the resumption of international travel, and look forward to engaging with airlines and travel trade to ramp up marketing efforts to promote Malaysia as a safe travel destination.
“With the upcoming reopening of international borders, it is timely for our marketing agency, Tourism Malaysia to implement its Strategic Plan 2022-2026 in undertaking strategic transformation, forging smart partnerships, enhancing tourism promotion and optimising its strategic communication as well as media engagement,” Nancy said.
Mirza Ghalib, Deputy Director of Tourism Malaysia, Dubai office shared, “On 1st April 2022, Malaysia will re-open its doors to the world for travellers. We are thrilled to welcome our guests, and Gulf Travel Show is the perfect platform for our 13 partners to re-establish the travel trade connections in the Middle East region. This will revitalise our presence in the world tourism circuit by re-introducing the destinations and products of Malaysia. With more than 97 per cent of its adult population vaccinated against COVID-19, the country is all set to its endemic phase. Let’s experience Malaysia again!”
For more information on the latest standard operating procedures (SOP) for border reopening, please visit our website at www.malaysia.travel/travel-alert.
