Malaysia recorded the largest growth in the domestic tourism market among Asean countries in the second half of last year (2H2020) when locking was lifted.
Despite the huge decline in orders (in all countries), the desire for Malaysians to travel is a clear crystal in all regions of the country and we see Malaysia's destinations that have never been made in our previous 10 before, making it on the list.
Consumer demand for travel was absolute and the company has focused on developing flexible products to meet the domestic market.
This also includes recruiting young talents and providing training and retention programs for engineers in Thailand, while working faster to test new processes and products on its platform using data analysis.
Although Hughes is sure about domestic travel prospects and holidays, business travel but not yet known, as the cost in this segment is higher.
Meanwhile, Central Deputy Chief Executive Officer Plaza Plaza Hotel, Markland Blaiklock said the group with 51% of a hotel chain in Thailand remained committed to reopening hotels in Phuket, Koh Samui and Bangkok.
Before opening Phuket for tourists injected on July 1, he said the Thai government and the industry all ensured the right preparation, which led to higher motivation among workers in the industry.
However, he stated that it was inevitable for foreign travelers infected by the Covid-19 virus. This is why the protocol is important to separate the identified people, but this can not prevent the industry from operating.
Despite emphasizing that ASEAN tourism did not 'die', he hoped Malaysia could develop and implement the same steps to immediately restore the tourism sector, focusing on the first attraction of foreign tourist attractions including Penang, Melaka, and Sabah.
On the same note, as a result of tourism development, the Tourism Department, the Philippines, Benito C Bengzon Jr said as a positive case bound, the government should ensure that, besides isolation for affected travelers, the medical attention required is also given a priority.
Although in Phillippines, the international border is still closed, the government, he said, slowly helping the recovery of the sector by focusing on domestic tourism while refusing to highlight high immunity.
"We have a large base of domestic tourists where 110 million domestic travel is generated before the pandemic.
"We hope domestic tourism will maintain a surviving and operating enterprise, and ultimately bring back the livelihood especially at the community level," Bengzon said.
