Langkawi travel agencies call for unity between Kedah govt, Motac

AROUND 20 travel agencies in Langkawi have called on the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (Motac) and the PAS-led Kedah government to work together for the sake of improving tourism there.  

The group said “unity” was needed as evident after the sector was badly hit by the Covid-19 pandemic.  

Tropical Charters Sdn Bhd founder Datuk Issac Alexander said he hoped Motac’s head Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing and Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammed Sanusi Md Nor could set aside their differences to help the island recover.  

“It takes time for tourism to recover but if all sides including the private sector work together, the recovery process can be hastened.”  

Alexander told The Vibes that both Tiong and Sanusi may mean well, but their open-ended squabble was ruining the island as a preferred travel destination. 

Both Tiong and Sanusi had traded barbs in the past month, with both leaders accusing each other of hampering tourism there.   

Both have argued over claims of strict dress codes imposed on tourists, alcohol consumption, licencing, and the lack of attention paid to the island.  

Alexander urged all detractors to understand that it took time to get tourism back to its pre-pandemic levels.  

“All inbound destinations in the region have yet to reach their pre-pandemic levels. It takes maybe up to three years. We need to rebuild the facilities and redouble marketing, but it takes time. It is even harder to bring back the airlines and direct charter flights.”  

Even Thailand, which has done fairly better than Malaysia in tourism, has yet to reach pre-2020 arrival figures, said Alexander. 

Veteran tourist agent Ahmad Pishol Isahak said nowhere else in the country was there a district that solely catered to tourism other than Langkawi, so when the community there was hard-pressed, the authorities needed to take notice.  

“What happens in Langkawi afflicts the rest of the country in terms of tourism,” he said.  

Pishol said the Kedah government and the private sector should unite to drive tourism.  

 “We also need to go back to the basics of bringing back the friendly Malaysian hospitality standards and a strong dose of humility in dealing with our visitors.” 

About 3.9 million tourists came to Langkawi in 2019, according to the Langkawi Development Authority, which is hoping to gain around 2.5 million visitors this year. 

While local tourism has picked up, international visits are still slowly trickling in.  

Of the 1.8 million visitors to the island from January to September 2022, about 85% were locals.  

This year, Malaysia is reportedly targeting 16.1 million international tourist arrivals and RM49.2 billion in tourism receipts.  

Pishol said the manner of tabulating tourist arrivals had to be reexamined because it could include day-trippers (usually workers), who commuted between the seaports of Kuala Kedah and Kuala Perlis with Langkawi.  

He suggested using hotel occupancy rates as a stronger gauge of tourist arrivals while also seeking more data on consumer spending to understand whether tourists were spending less now. – The Vibes, November 21, 2023.