Perak Housing, Local Government and Tourism committee chairman Datuk Nolee Ashilin Mohammed Radzi speaks to the press at the Ipoh City Council building September 16, 2021. — Picture by Farhan Najib
IPOH, Sept 16 — Perak authorities will require visitors to Pulau Pangkor here to pre-book the ferry and hotel services they require on the island to prevent congestion at the jetties that could lead to Covid-19 infection.
State Housing, Local Government and Tourism Committee chairman Datuk Nolee Ashilin Mohammed Radzi said that this was already possible as most tourism operators on the island offer their services online.
“We have pre-booking systems for visitors who want to travel to the island. This will reduce the waiting time at the jetty and also will avoid crowding,” she said at a press conference held at the Ipoh City Council’s building.
“We will make sure there are no more walk-in visitors to the island. After this, tourists who want to visit the island need to pre-book and schedule their visit,” she added.
At the moment, the island is only open for the Perak residents.
Nolee also said that the Pangkor Island Tax-free Secretariat will be in charge of inspecting visitors’ digital vaccination certificates.
“The tourism and hotelier association in Pangkor also have taken the initiative to categorise hoteliers who are ready to open for business.
“Some have announced that they will start operating gradually starting from today. I was informed by the association that there were three starting dates which includes today and in November and December.
“In terms of preparation, they’re ready with standard operating procedures (SOP) and we will leave it to the authorities to check them,” she said.
Nolee also said that the island could not yet accept visitors from other states but was already seeking approval to do so from the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry (Motac) and National Security Council (NSC).
“We are also looking at the Langkawi module in terms of operation, so if the module is a success, then we will use the same in Pangkor and also Pulau Tioman,” she said.
On Sunday, Nolee said that the island could reopen for all visitors on November 1 based on the green travel bubble.
However, Nolee said the decision to reopen the island is subject to the approval of the NSC, after all information, requirements and SOPs have been tabled by Motac.