PATA Malaysia Taylor's Student Chapter Hosting the HEX Talk Tourism 2021: Is Malaysia Ready for the 'Vaccine Passport'?

May 20

Subang Jaya, Malaysia, 20th May 2021 - The School of Hospitality, Tourism and Events (SHTE), Taylor's University and PATA Malaysia Taylor's Student Chapter (PATA MTSC) organized their virtual HEX Talk Tourism entitled “Is Malaysia Ready for the 'Vaccine Passport?”. This virtual HEX talk aimed to share and highlight the public awareness and acceptance level of an eventual 'vaccine passport' initiative while discussing its impacts on the Hospitality and tourism industries.

In line with this, a number of experts were invited to share their expertise and communicate their insights on vaccine passport efforts and the potential risks and contributions to the hospitality and tourism industries that namely include: Mr. Mohd Daud Mohd Arif (Chief Executive Officer of Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council), Dr. Azhar Azahari (Regional Business Development and Asia-Pacific Area Manager at IATA), Dr. Y.M Tunku Dato' Seri Iskandar bin Tunku Abdullah (Group Executive Chairman at Melewar Group), Mr. Uzaidi Udanis (President at Malaysia Tourism Council, Professor Dr. Neethiahnanthan Ari Ragavan (Executive Dean at the Faculty of Social Sciences and Leisure Management, Taylor's University) and Mr. Francis Teo (President at the Malaysian Association of Convention and Exhibition Organisers & Suppliers).

The virtual talk started at 5pm with a welcoming speech by Ms. Teresa Dines and Ms April Lim (committee members of PATA MTSC), followed by Dr. Joaquim Dias Soeiro (Head of School of Hospitality, Tourism and Events. Mr. Mohd Daud Mohd Arif, keynote speaker of the event, presented the Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council's efforts and experiences in combating the COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia since 2020 and how the organization is welcoming the 'Vaccine Passport' initiatives. He also expressed the hope of rebranding Malaysia as a safe and trusted destination with a vaccine immunization programme.

Next, the virtual forum session was conducted when the five panel speakers shared their views on the vaccine passport initiative. Dr. Azahari introduced IATA's Travel Pass (ITP) Application which is currently practiced by IATA Singapore. He further explained each step of the application, future practices and the benefits to the tourism and travel industries. Dr. Seri highlighted the importance of the Vaccine passport, IATA's efforts on ITP and the impacts of fake vaccine passports on tourism and travel industries.

Next, Mr. Uzaidi Udanis presented the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on tourism and travel industries, the number of affected cases which shot up highly recently and public perceptions on vaccine passports and the effort of opening borders for international tourism activities.

Meanwhile, Prof. Dr. Neethiahnanthan questioned how the vaccine efforts will succeed when the general public lack confidence in 'vaccine immunization' action. He also shared the statistics that indicated the vaccine's lower acceptance levels in various countries, including Malaysia. Finally, Mr. Francis Teo highlighted the impact of the COVID 19 pandemic on business travel and tourism related industries.

The virtual talk ended with closing remarks by Dr. Lisa Tung (Programme Director of Tourism and Event Management). Close to 250 participants from various industries including education, travel, tourism, events and healthcare joined and actively participated in this virtual talk. The insights shared by the speakers make this virtual talk as a fruitful session for all the audiences.