Malaysia, Singapore pledge to work toward full travel resumption | Travel - Hindustan Times
close_game
close_game

Malaysia, Singapore pledge to work toward full travel resumption

Bloomberg | | Posted by Parmita Uniyal
Mar 23, 2022 01:53 PM IST

The health ministers of Malaysia and Singapore agreed to work on resuming travel completely between the two countries considering the pandemic situation has stabilized, Malaysian Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin wrote on Twitter.

The health ministers of Malaysia and Singapore agreed to work on resuming travel completely between the two countries considering the pandemic situation has stabilized, Malaysian Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin wrote on Twitter.

Malaysia is set to reopen its borders to fully vaccinated travelers from April 1. REUTERS/Lim Huey Teng/File Photo
Malaysia is set to reopen its borders to fully vaccinated travelers from April 1. REUTERS/Lim Huey Teng/File Photo

The two ministers agreed they can immediately work on enabling full resumption of air and land travel for fully vaccinated people, Khairy said. He met with his counterpart Ong Ye Kung earlier Wednesday to discuss details for the border reopening, Khairy said in an earlier tweet.

Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now.

Malaysia is set to reopen its borders to fully vaccinated travelers from April 1 after two years of restrictions to contain Covid, which is now shifting toward the endemic phase of the outbreak. Malaysia and Singapore allowed visits between the two nations in November by air and land on a limited quota basis. Air travel initially started with flights between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, while services to Penang were added last week.

Singapore is also planning to further open its borders to fully vaccinated travelers sooner than later, the country’s Transport Minister S. Iswaran said earlier this month. Currently, the island city allows inoculated people from 32 countries and territories to enter without having to quarantine under a vaccinated travel lane program.

Ong also took to social media Wednesday to talk about his meeting with Khairy, saying the pair had a “fruitful and frank discussion.”

Singapore was Malaysia’s biggest source of visitors in 2019 with some 10 million arrivals, according to the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture Malaysia. That number fell to 1.5 million in 2020, primarily made up of visitors in the first couple of months of the year before lockdowns. Singaporean tourists also bring in the most money for Malaysia, spending about 20.5 billion ringgit ($4.9 billion) in 2019.

Oscars 2024: From Nominees to Red Carpet Glam! Get Exclusive Coverage on HT. Click Here

Catch your daily dose of Fashion, Health, Festivals, Travel, Relationship, Recipe and all the other Latest Lifestyle News on Hindustan Times Website and APPs
This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.
SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Share this article
SHARE
Story Saved
Live Score
OPEN APP
Saved Articles
Following
My Reads
Sign out
New Delhi 0C
Thursday, March 28, 2024
Start 14 Days Free Trial Subscribe Now
Follow Us On