Malaysia has opened its borders for international travel, ending restrictions that have been in place since the Covid-19 pandemic began in 2020, IANS reported.

Among measures adopted by the authorities to facilitate the travel of non-Malaysian nationals to the country are the abolishing quarantine requirements for vaccinated travellers, with only a pre-departure test and a test within 24-hours of arriving in the country, reports Xinhua news agency.

There is already optimism that the move into the endemic phase will see economic recovery, especially for the country’s hard hit tourist sector which has been largely closed off.

Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Nancy Shukri said over 10,000 foreign travellers and Malaysians residing abroad were expected to arrive at airports nationwide on Friday and the Ministry is targeting over 2 million tourist arrivals within the year.

Transport Minister Wee Ka Siong noted the influx of travellers moving across the bridge connecting Malaysia and Singapore, allowing families to reunite ahead of Ramadan, the Islamic fasting month, and Qingming, a traditional tomb-sweeping festival.

Malaysia has so far reported 4,201,919 Covid-19 cases and 34,983 deaths.