COMMENT | Are you confused about the requirements for interstate travel announced by Senior Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob on Tuesday? You should be because they make little sense for holidaymakers. The process appears to be a chore more than preparations for a leisurely outing.

The regulation that interstate travel is only allowed through registered travel agencies under the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry (Motac) is a damper to promoting domestic tourism.

To add more woes to the tourism industry, he said travel agencies must use tour vehicles registered with the ministry such as tour buses. Tourism activities using privately-owned vehicles are still prohibited.

In all our domestic travel, we have never used a travel agent to book bus tickets. The last we checked, there is no such requirement for KTM either. Are MAS and Air Asia registered with Motac as travel agencies? This means travelling by air or rail is a no-no. So, let’s for argument’s sake concede and ask: What do we do if we want to spend a weekend in Port Dickson?

We checked with two travel agents in the Klang Valley and both said that they do not arrange for bus tickets for the Petaling Jaya-Port Dickson route. They suggested that I go to the terminal in Bandar Tasik Selatan on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur and buy bus tickets from bus operators licenced by Motac...