Malaysians recently enjoyed a four-day weekend due to Malaysia Day celebrations, with thousands leaving their hometown to vacation elsewhere.
For Langkawi, once a bustling tourist spot, it sadly suffered a huge drop in its tourist numbers as the island continues to lose its appeal to locals who opt to spend their money in Thailand instead.
Tourists to Langkawi drop by 39% over Malaysia Day weekend
Speaking to Harian Metro, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Langkawi Tourism Association (LTA), Zainudin Kadir, said official data showed that Malaysians are increasingly choosing to holiday elsewhere, most notably south Thailand.
As such, Langkawi saw a decrease in tourists by between 30 and 39% over the Malaysia Day weekend, a figure which reflected similar challenges faced by other major tourist destinations in the country.
Zainudin said the drop was attributed to two reasons: the outstanding problem with having to wait for Langkawi’s ferry services for a long time and high cost of flight tickets, which can soar to thousands of Ringgit for a round trip.
Imagine having cheap one-way tickets, but the return fare is much higher. This situation scares off tourists,” he added.
Urged govt to step up efforts
In light of Langkawi’s declining lustre among locals, Zainudin emphasised that the island still had untapped potential due to weak domestic tourism promotion.
“The government needs to be more aggressive in promoting tourist destinations in Malaysia as premier attractions. We cannot allow our domestic tourists to choose neighboring countries instead.
“We want Langkawi to once again become the country’s tourism paradise. Government agencies must work hand in hand with industry players to restore the situation,” he added.
To achieve this, the Langkawi Mega Sales Tourism (LMST) campaign will run from Oct 1 to Dec 31, with discounts of 15% to 60% being offered for various tourism products and activities and aims to attract 3.5 million tourists by the end of December.
Recently, it was reported that millions in cash flow was lost to Thailand due to Malaysians holidaying there:
