Malaysia has announced the resumption of ticket sales for quarantine-free travel by air and land under its Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) programme with Singapore, although the previous ticket quota will be halved.
The VTL was suspended on 23 December 2021, just weeks after land travel was reintroduced, amid concerns over the spread of Omicron. However, Malaysian Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said via a statement that ticket sales would resume based on ongoing risk evaluations conducted by the two countries.
Both the land and air borders between Malaysia and Singapore, which closed in March 2020, reopened on 29 November with the land border initially allowing 2,880 crossings each day – 1,440 in each direction.
Prior to its 2020 closure, the land border saw around 415,000 crossings every day. The Straits Times reported last week that around 100,000 people in total had entered Singapore from Malaysia via the land VTL between its 29 November reopening and 23 December suspension.
Analysts estimate that around 25% of VIP volume and mass market GGR at its integrated resorts, Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa, come from Malaysia with most mass market players entering by land.
Maybank Investment Bank last week cut Genting Singapore’s earnings estimates by 72% for 2022 and 54% for 2023 in part due to the suspension of the land VTL with Malaysia.
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