LANGKAWI – Tourism stakeholders need to prepare for the low season as the school term resumes in January.
Tourism Langkawi chairman Ahmad Pishol Isahak said it is imperative that Tourism Malaysia works to lure travellers from cold climate countries such as Europe, China, India, and the Americas.
He said although some tourism players in Penang and Kedah are seeing hotel occupancy rates of 70%-80%, this will end as school resumes and domestic travellers begin to look to international destinations.
Pishol said despite Langkawi’s international bubble starting last month, tourist arrivals have been lukewarm – and the new Omicron variant could be a compounding factor.
He urged the authorities to include in their tourism revival plans the likelihood of new variants emerging and the need to ramp up booster shots.
Equally important, is an effective marketing campaign and to constantly reinvent places of interests so tourists always have something new to explore, he added.
He said tourism planners should look at building up air connectivity by boosting international air linkages and making chartered direct flights a reality, while also easing entry requirements.
Pishol called for more emphasis on regional travel, saying Malaysia’s Asean neighbours have registered strong economic rebounds, and Vietnam and Indonesia are faring well despite the pandemic.
“We need to boost our regional network to entice more of our neighbours to come. It is easier to travel within a region, than to faraway places.”
When Langkawi was first marketed as a leading tourism destination, planners had in mind for it to be a year-long location, not just a seasonal one, he said.
“So, it is important to find new markets to fuel a consistent inflow of tourists, especially with the numbers of competing destinations looking to entice their fair share of tourists.” – The Vibes, December 12, 2021
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