Malaysia and South Korea reopen to tourists for first time in two years

Both destinations require tests either side of travel

Kek Lok Si Temple- in Penang, Malaysia (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Both Malaysia and South Korea reopened to tourists today, two years after closing their borders due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Only fully vaccinated travellers (two jabs or more) may travel to either country quarantine-free - and testing requirements remain.

The second dose of the vaccine must have been administered more than 14 days before arrival; for South Korea, it must also have been given within the past 180 days, or travellers need a booster shot to be permitted entry.

For both countries, visitors need to provide a negative PCR result from a test taken within the 48 hours before departure, as well as registering their proof of vaccination before travel.

While children under five do not need a pre-travel test on entry, all arrivals to South Korea, including children of all ages, must take a Covid test within the first 24 hours of their trip.

Arrivals to Malaysia also need to take an antigen test within 24 hours of arrival, and over 60s - or anyone who has had the Sinovac vaccine - must have had a booster in order to be considered fully jabbed.

According to a statement from the Civil Aviation Commission Malaysia, the country is due to receive 119 flights into its various airports today.

Seoul’s Incheon airport said it expected to surpass the 20,000 passenger mark for the first time in nearly two years - its average daily traffic has slumped from around 200,000 flyers a day to around 3,000 due to travel restrictions.

The land border between Malaysia and Singapore has also opened - prior to the pandemic, Singapore was the biggest source of tourists to Malaysia, with some 10 million arriving in 2019.

“Malaysia is open for international travellers again today. Find out what you need to do when you arrive in Malaysia. This applies to all travellers except those travelling from Singapore who are exempted from on-arrival testing. #ReopeningSafely,” tweeted health minister Khairy Jamaluddin, sharing a video about the new entry protocols.