Starting from 16 September, Langkawi will be opened to domestic tourists once again as the popular island has been selected by the government as the pilot location for the travel bubble for fully vaccinated individuals. However, there is some confusion regarding certain SOPs that visitors need to fulfil before they are allowed to travel to Langkawi.
Specifically, it revolves around the need to obtain the travel authorisation letter from the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) given that interstate movements are still being prohibited at the moment. As it turns out, you don’t need such a letter if you’re heading to Langkawi via air travel.
This was confirmed by Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin through a tweet yesterday. Prior to that, the Minister of Tourism, Arts, and Culture, Nancy Shukri has also said air travellers to Langkawi as well as those that are coming from Kedah and Perlis are not required to obtain services from MOTAC-licensed travel agencies.
As a comparison, those who are planning to go to Langkawi using land transport are not only required to obtain approvals from PDRM but they also need to at least hire transport services through a travel agency that covers the journey from their departure point to the jetty of their choice before embarking on a ferry to Langkawi.
As mentioned earlier, one needs to be fully vaccinated before they can visit Langkawi under the travel bubble program. Minors of 18 years old and below are allowed to come along as well but they must stay together with their fully vaccinated parents or guardians.
(Source: Khairy Jamaluddin, MOTAC via Twitter. Image: Chongkian / Wikimedia Commons, used under Creative Commons licence.)
