Langkawi Development Authority (LADA) aims to attract at least 80,000 tourists from Singapore and 100,000 from Johor to the Kedah island this year.
Its tourism division manager Dr Azmil Munif Mohd Bukhari said the target was set based on the number of visitors Langkawi received last year, and owing to the ongoing Middle East crisis.
“Last year, Langkawi received 60,000 visitors from Singapore and 70,000 from Johor.
“This year, we hope to increase the number, especially with the current geopolitical situation in the Middle East that may prompt Malaysians and our Singaporean neighbours to look into travel alternatives closer to home.”
He said this to reporters after giving a presentation about Langkawi to some 65 Singapore and Johor tour operators in Johor Baru.
Azmil Munif said the business-to-business session was part of ongoing efforts to attract more domestic travellers and Singaporeans to Langkawi.
“We also brought together 17 tourism industry players from Langkawi to promote the place and offer packages to their peers from Johor and Singapore.
“We hope to see more visitors coming to Langkawi in the upcoming school holidays, which will be in May for Malaysia and June for Singapore,” he said.
He added that such an effort was also important to ensure survival of the country’s tourism sector.
“We previously had direct flights between Langkawi and Dubai (the UAE) daily, but the route had been cancelled since the start of the conflict in Iran.
“Before the Covid-19 pandemic, we also used to have direct flights to about six locations in China involving three airlines.
“They stopped since the pandemic and have yet to resume.
“As such, we need to be more aggressive in promoting to domestic visitors to make up for the loss of international travellers,” Azmil Munif said. — By VENESA DEVI
