KUALA LUMPUR, April 14 (Bernama) – We now have the freedom to travel after many countries, including Malaysia, recently eased their COVID-19 restrictions.

So Malaysians have started dusting off their bucket list and are all set to go on holiday with their friends or family, or backpacking alone.

You can sense the excitement in the air as some people have decided to spend the fasting month and Eid with family overseas they may not have seen since March 2020, when the pandemic started.

Nur Khairunnissa Caroline Emban, who works in the private sector, said she plans to go on holiday to London, Paris and Amsterdam after Syawal.

“I wish to go back to those cities because I visited them before the pandemic,” said the 30-something.

Entrepreneur, Surati Sujor, 49, who used to lead small groups on overseas trips before the pandemic hit is offering a 10-day holiday package to Turkey at the end of September.

Turkey, which is rich in Islamic history and has a unique culture due to its location between the continents of Asia and Europe, is a popular destination for Malaysian tourists, she said.

MyZarra Travel & Services Sdn Bhd director, Zawati Talib, said they have started receiving bookings for holidays in Scandinavia, Central and Eastern Europe, the Balkans, UK, Morocco, Turkey and Thailand from next month to January 2023.   

She said that in the post-pandemic era, their tour groups are smaller – just eight to 15 people – as they are easier to manage and can help prevent overcrowding in vehicles and restaurants.

She said they have to be a more considerate agency to prevent the spread of the virus.

Shira, who often took Malaysian tour groups to the Maldives, Boracay Island in the Philippines and Komodo Island in Indonesia, said she hasn’t opened bookings for her holiday packages yet because she wants to observe the post-pandemic situation first.  

She said she will probably promote her packages to friends, acquaintances and past clients before doing all out promotions via social media like she used to do previously.

-- BERNAMA