Published on : Saturday, June 18, 2022

Malaysia, which found its place among the top vacation picks for Singaporeans for long, is finding it tough to cope with a flood of visitors from its neighboring countryafter the dismissal of coronavirus travel restraints.

Malaysia and Singapore share one of the busiest land bordersof the world. However, travel came to a standstill in 2020 with both countries closing their borders to control the spread of coronavirus.

Since opening again on April 1, over 600,000 Singaporeans have journeyed to Malaysia, as per the tourism ministryof Malaysia. It is hoping to greet 2 million international visitors till the end of this year.

More travelers from Singapore are also likely to come by rail, with cross-border railway facilities set to recommencefrom Sunday.

NurulHidayah,customer service member at Malaysia’s chief rail facility, Keretapi Tanah Melayusaid that the condition is now slowly going back to the pre-pandemic times. Majority of the tickets have been sold outalready said Hidayah.

Prior to the pandemic, tourism was accountable for over 13 percent of Malaysia’s gross domestic product.The country iskeenlywaiting for a restoration of its hospitality division. But now, stakeholders understand that they might not have sufficientmanpower to manage the visitor arrival.

Nancy Shukri, the Tourism Minister ofMalaysia said last month that at best 15,000 extra workers are required in the hospitality segmentitself and the Malaysian government will attempt to source these workers from abroad.

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