A proposed domestic tourism bubble that was to see Genting Malaysia’s Genting Highlands resort allowed to reopen as early as this Friday has been postponed.
The delay follows intervention from Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, who declared on Tuesday that tourism destinations would only be allowed to reopen once 90% of the country’s adult population is fully vaccinated.
Based on the current vaccination rate of 84% and figures showing around 150,000 people are receiving their second dose each day, such a target is likely to be met in around 2 weeks’ time.
Malaysia’s Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture last week named Genting Highlands, home of Resorts World Genting (RWG), as one of three tourism destinations it was looking to reopen by 1 October as part of a domestic tourism bubble.
RWG has been closed since 1 June under Malaysia’s nationwide lockdown, however the company recently revealed that around 95% of its Malaysian staff had been vaccinated as of late August.
Genting Malaysia reported a net loss of MYR366.7 million (US$87.4 million) in the three months to 30 June 2021 on global COVID closures.