Yes, we all know that this April Fools’ Day will be a day all in the Malaysian tourist industry are eagerly waiting for because our long shut national borders will reopen on that day!

These past few days I have met some colleagues in the travel industry, and I could see from their exhausted faces hints of smile and hope. They showed their four fingers, beaming, to reflect their overwhelming joy having gone through the insurmountable hardships over the past two years.

Yes, we all know that this April Fools’ Day will be a day all in the Malaysian tourist industry are eagerly waiting for because our long shut national borders will reopen on that day!

I can still remember what Chua Lam told me some two years back: We have to start preparing ourselves right away for the day when we get to set out our journeys once again. Indeed, the cage has opened up and the bird long in confinement must flap its wings again to prepare to fly into the open sky!

Flight attendants who have been taking long rests over the past two years have been summoned back for intensive training this past week, as they ready themselves to fly into the vast expanse of blue sky towards their distant destinations. Everything looks so promising because such movements of goods and people are the veritable stimulants for human’s mobile lifestyles.

As a matter of fact, we all have had a tough time braving through the 24 months of smothering lockdown life, and now we have this rare opportunity to move our muscles again, get ourselves mentally prepared for the long-lost vacations and our dust-collecting passports in hand, as we impatiently wait for the arrival of the big day. Most importantly the country’s tourist economy will get a significant boost from this moment on. Everyone will have a job to attend to and their families have food on the tables. This is what I yearn to see most, a powerful force that has kept me going.

With travel restrictions soon relaxed, we can anticipate a tsunami-like retaliatory surge in outbound tours in the foreseeable future. From what I learn, air fares to Australia have gone up a lot and many hotels in tourist areas have been fully booked. Any other country that will soon relax their travel regulations will be much sought-after destinations among Malaysian tourists, including Turkey, northern Europe, Maldives, South Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, etc. etc.

Once Japan opens its doors in May or June, that will readily send my excitement through the ceiling. I have dreamed of scaling Mount Fuji, visiting Hokkaido, going for an onsen bath, savouring sashimi, wagyu and what not! Everyone is trying to rush through their travel plans that have been shelved for two whole years!

Elsewhere on this planet, despite the fact the skies of Russia and Ukraine remain shut for civilian aircraft, flights between Asia and Europe have become increasingly frequent, as we crave for the romantic sights of Europe or visit our children studying at universities in the continent.

The reopening of national borders will indeed normalise our familial lives as we learn to treasure the moments to freely mingle and get together. Although more and more people are getting used to the fun of working from home, deep inside there’s always this powerful lust yearning to fly out of our little cages towards the big open world outside!

The sad reality is, the coronavirus pandemic is still very much alive all across the globe, the war is still raging on, and goods prices have shot up unchecked. Nonetheless, we need to learn to confront the new way of living in the new normal, with a little smile.

The thing is, not every travel agency can get back to work immediately. Lest we forget, the past two years of pandemic have turned many things upside down. Staff were laid off, shutters down, years of savings emptied. Raising new funds and recruiting new workers to reboot the industry remain a tall order.

To be honest, many service personnel have left the tourist industry and few would muster enough courage to return to the industry after being brutally crushed by tsunami-like industrial meltdown.

Of course, my rule of thumb for survival is to adapt and be versatile in the face of a storm. Even if we are short of funds, at least we have the knowhow. If we have lost most of our skilled workers, we can always train new ones. Bear in mind we still have those faithful old hands and heart-warming encouragement from our loyal customers and supporters, not to mention many in this industry who will go through the thick and thin with us. Most importantly, our borders will open soon, and we can get back to work and start everything afresh!

I’m overwhelmed with joy. This April Fool, many are already impatiently checking their passports’ validity. Travel agencies have already drawn up the SOPs for entering and leaving each country/territory. We have arranged the best flights for you, preferably those with open dates, but above all we have also included new COVID-19 insurance coverage for your trips. In short, we will handle everything to make sure you have a hassle-free holiday with us!

(Lee San is Founder and Group Executive Chairman of Apple Vacations. He has travelled to 132 countries, six continents, and enjoys sharing his travel stories and insights. He has also authored five books.)