Tourism Malaysia Northern Region deputy director Siti Hajar Yunus said since Dec 22, Star Cruise Pisces had been offering a two-day, one-night cruise in the waters off Penang and a three-day, two-night vacation to Langkawi.
"TMWU has found cruise ship operators to be serious about protecting the safety and health of tourists by instituting strict SOP, which includes antigen tests prior to boarding, physical distancing on and off ships, and allowing only one-third of their normal passenger capacity when sailing," she told reporters here.
She said feedback from tour agencies and other industry players showed that the number of Muslim cruise-goers had increased by about 70% since the cruise industry resumed operations nine days ago. Siti Hajar said the increasing Muslim interest in cruise holiday might help to attract more foreign investment into the country to boost the Muslim-friendly tourism industry.