TOURISM in Malaysia has been spared the wrath of super typhoon Haiyan as the cyclone diverted from its original course to make landfall in Vietnam today, although the Malaysian Meteorological Department has maintained its high seas warning.
The warning is in effect for Sabah, Labuan, Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang and east Johor until tomorrow even as immediate danger from typhoon Haiyan has passed, said the weather authority.
Tour operators interviewed said tourism activities have not been affected.
Ganneesh Ramaa, manager of Luxury Tours Malaysia, said: “We are monitoring the situation in Sabah carefully. If there are heavy rains and choppy sea conditions, we will avoid sea activities. Tours to Kota Kinabalu and Sandakan are running as normal.”
Another inbound travel consultant, Alex Lee, CEO of Ping Anchorage Travel & Tours, shared: “We are keeping our partners overseas informed of the situation. Due to the annual heavy rains this time of year, beach resorts on islands off the coast of Terengganu such as Redang, Perhentian and Lang Tengah are closed until early next year. However, our tours along the coast of Terengganu and Pahang are running as usual. There have not been any cancellations.”
Nicolas Reschke, group director of sales and marketing at Sutera Harbour Resort, said the resort is running at high occupancy and there have been no cancellations.
Super typhoon Haiyan, which has been called the year’s strongest typhoon, hit the Philippines last week and is feared to have left over 10,000 dead (TTG Asia e-Daily, November 8, 2013).
