Kuala Lumpur (VNA) - Malaysia’s tourism industry has shown signs of rapid recovery since Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin announced the Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO) on June 5.

The RMCO is to be applied from June 10 to August 31 and allows travel in Malaya and between states. The provision has facilitated the recovery of domestic tourism, as proven by the increase in hotel reservation rates.

Langkawi Tourism Association CEO Zainuddin Kadir said the popular tourist island took 1,000 bookings in less than one hour, from 4pm to 4.45pm, on June 5.

The association aims to welcome 1 million tourists by the end of 2020.

Kedah, Perak, Johor, Pahang, and Kelantan states have received short- and medium-term reservations, while travelers are looking forward to year-end trips to Langkawi and Negeri Sembilan, according to the Malaysia Association of Hotels.

Notably, the states of Terengganu, Selangor, and Sarawak together with the capital Kuala Lumpur have received bookings for the third and fourth quarters of this year, while Penang, Melaka, and Sabah believe steady growth will continue to the first quarter of 2021.

The COVID-19 outbreak hit Malaysia’s tourism sector hard. As host of APEC 2020, it set a programme called “Visit Malaysia 2020”, with the aim of attracting 30 million international tourists and earning revenue of 100 billion ringgit (23.4 billion USD)./.
VNA