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Covid-19: Malaysian holiday island opens today as tourism restarts

Kuala Lampur - Tourists must be fully vaccinated to visit and have to take a virus test before departure.

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Visitors flocked to the Malaysian island of Langkawi on Thursday as it became the country’s first holiday hotspot to reopen after a coronavirus lockdown that has hammered the vital tourism industry.

Restrictions on local travel had been in place for months and international borders remain largely closed as Malaysia battles its worst Covid-19 wave.

But with the outbreak gradually easing, Langkawi, one of tropical Malaysia’s premier holiday destinations, has been chosen for a pilot project to reopen the sector to domestic tourists.

The island began welcoming visitors Thursday, with water cannons firing over the first plane to land at its airport.

“We’re very excited because we haven’t been anywhere since February 2020,” Andrea Manason, an Australian woman based in Kuala Lumpur travelling with her family of six, told AFP.

“It’s real exciting for us to be here, and to actually have the kids leave the house.”

Under the initiative, hotels and businesses have been allowed to reopen while activities on the island’s palm-fringed beaches are resuming.

Tourists must be fully vaccinated to visit and have to take a virus test before departure.

Alexander Issac, head of a yacht charter firm, said he was delighted at the reopening as the island’s tourism sector had been “badly impacted” by virus curbs.

“We can’t afford any more lockdowns... We need to reopen the economy and get people working again.”

The island off Malaysia’s northwest coast has long been popular with domestic and overseas visitors, although for now foreign tourists are still barred from the country.

• Asia