The Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA) said all tourism businesses in the country will have to adopt the new Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) to embrace the new normal for sanitized travel post COVID-19 pandemic.

Datuk Tan Kok Liang, the President of MATTA, said that the idea of sanitized travel needs be adopted by stakeholders to create consumer’s confidence in both destinations and travelling that health and safety issues are fully addressed.

He said, “At this moment in time, protection of the public health, including tourism workers and tourists, remains the key priority. Each one would want to remain in a place where their well-being is guaranteed with no risk of being jeopardized.”

Some of the standard operating procedures (SOP) include sanitization of luggage, disinfection of tour vehicles, strict personal hygiene among tour guides and reducing full capacity in tour buses by 50 per cent to maintain social distance.

According to Datuk Tan Kok Liang, tourist guides and drivers will also have an important role to ensure the safety of travelers. All tourist guides and bus drivers will ensure that passengers consistently follow each SOPs throughout a tour and temperature screening of passengers must be noted by tourist guides.

Important components of public health will be covered through these SOPs likewise vehicles, passengers, drivers of a travel transport, luggage as well as tourist guides will be go through sanitization procedures. Tour vehicles will be required to follow disinfection process before embarking and after disembarking passengers. All passengers will also be required to maintain social distance of at least 1 meter from other passengers. In regards to seating arrangements inside the vehicles, only one passenger in two-seater row in a bus and only four passengers in eight-seater van will be allowed to sit at one time.

These SOPs will helpful in ensuring that travel operators or travel agents can do their job while minimizing the challenges and risks of COVID-19 pandemic.