 Langkawi
with its white sandy beaches, pristine sea water and sunshine throughout the
year, could be an ideal destination for high-spending foreign tourists.
This potential has not been fully tapped in the past; however, the
Langkawi tourism planners are now making a strong pitch to court foreign
tourists.
Tourism is the biggest source of revenue for the state and assumes an
important role for the state's economy.
Kamaruzaman Abdul Ghani, General Manager of the Langkawi Development
Authority (LADA), who looks after tourism promotion, highlighted the state's
natural attributes as an ideal destination in an interview with Bernama.
"We're giving high priority to building and expanding our infrastructure
to accommodate the growth expected in tourism inflow. We've already develop
the airport and seaport. We're getting funds out of our state budget but
also from the national development budget," he said.
Eventhough the Langkawi International Airport in Padang Mat Sirat has
been oversized, Ghani said there was a need to upgrade the airport
facilities.
He said talks were proceeding apace with foreign airlines to fly to and
from Langkawi.
"We are currently talking to Korean Air. We are also trying to start a
Langkawi-Bangkok flight with Air Asia. This would increase traffic amongst
those tourists who, for example, want to fly to Langkawi after spending time
in Thailand," he said.
Langkawi also has direct chartered flights with Cathay Pacific from
Hong Kong and
Shenzen
(South China). LADA hopes that other airlines will emulate this example.
"The key to boosting tourism is connectivity. You provide connectivity
and tourism gets a strong boost," he said.
Kamaruzaman said China's growing prosperity has benefited Langkawi's
tourism as more and more Chinese come to Langkawi.
One of the interesting attributes of Langkawi as a tourist destination is
its ability to provide facilities for the meetings, incentives, conferences
and exhibitions (MICE) sector.
The Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace (LIMA) show, held in
Langkawi in December 2005, attracted "huge crowds" of exhibitors and trade
visitors from around the world, he said.
Though it is much smaller and not yet fully known in the western world,
LIMA has the potential to become a major regional event, if it is groomed
and developed by the organisers.
The Asean Tourism Forum has also raised Langkawi's stature in the
regional context.
Langkawi's MICE sector has also benefited from the existence of hotels
such as
Sheraton Langkawi and the brand new
Four Seasons' Resort with its imposing architecture with the strong Moorish
influence.
Peter Foreman, Sheraton Langkawi's Sales Director, said the hotel has
upgraded its facilities which are also aimed to attract MICE participants.
CITROEN U.K. held a major incentive event at the hotel which gets
business from Europe, Australia and West Asia.
"MICE provides 35 to 40 per cent of our business," Foreman told Bernama.
Besides the sun and sea, he said, Langkawi was perceived as a safe
destination compared with Thailand and Indonesia.
Indeed, he said, Langkawi is emerging as the "new Bali".
"Being a duty-free island, Langkawi also attracts tourists keen to do
shopping," he said.
Royal Rowe, General Manager of the newly-constructed Four Seasons'
Resort, exuded confidence over the "magnificent property" added to the
landscape of Langkawi.
Imposing architecture with Moorish motif and an intricately designed
restaurant from where the guests can stop directly on to the sandy beaches,
can easily pose as an irresistable temptation to the young and old alike.
"Most super-luxury hotels in Asia lack banquet facilities. We have paid
meticulous attention to banquet halls equipped with the state-of-the-art
technology.
"In the incentive sector, where we have a lot of our business, we can
offer beautiful settings and create amazing events. Our four ethnic cuisines
Malay, Chinese, Indian and Thai have been much appreciated by our guests,"
said Rowe, a veteran in the hotel business with profound knowledge of Asia.
Four Seasons is very keen to attract tourists to Langkawi, he said.
Rowe disclosed that a major Bollywood film with superstars Shah Rukh Khan
and Kareena Kapoor was going to be shot at his hotel in March.
"Malaysia is very popular amongst Bollywood film makers," he said.
Langkawi International Airport has also been gearing itself to
accommodating the rise in tourism traffic expected.
After a renovation carried out at a cost of RM86 million in 1996 for the
terminal, the airport embarked on a RM75 million modernisation of the runway
to accommodate the B747 aircraft.
"We can also accommodate the latest A380 aircraft but we need to upgrade
and widen our runway," said Mohd Suhaimi Abdul Mubin, the airport manager.
The airport is used by Malaysia Airlines, Air Asia, Silk Air, Cathay
Pacific, Fin Air, Uzbekistan Airline, Demo Dencou and Koshetau.
According to LADA, Langkawi received 2.1 million tourists in 2004; this
figure declined to 1.8 million last year because of a number of external
factors such as the tsunami, the bird flu, the unrest in Southern Thailand
and a general fear amongst western tourists to fly to exotic destinations.
"But this year, we expect better results," avers a confident LADA
spokesman.
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