Malaysia is poised to open its international borders to all vaccinated travelers next month, with no quarantine restrictions, after Malaysia’s Coronavirus Recovery Council recommended the initiative.
Malaysia has kept its international border almost entirely shut to tourists since March 2020, when the country discovered its first COVID-19 infection. It has made some tentative reopening steps with its ongoing Malaysia-Singapore vaccinated travel lane and a tourism bubble at Langkawi.
Malaysian tourism ministry statistics show the country lost about 165 billion ringgit ($39 billion) in tourist spending for 2021. Gross domestic product slumped back into a contraction in the third quarter, at -4.5%, after some COVID-19 restrictions were reimposed.
Southeast Asia is gradually beginning to open up more. Thailand resumed quarantine-free tourist arrivals a week ago, while the Philippines opened its borders today.
