Malaysia Lifestyle Travel

Jewel of Kedah Losing Its Shine

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The “Jewel of Kedah” is losing its shine. The number of visitors to Langkawi has been shrinking since September, and the island will likely miss its visitor arrivals target this year by at least half a million.

Since September, the island saw a month-on-month drop of almost 20% compared with last year, a source in the Langkawi Development Authority (Lada) reveals. These comprised arrivals at the jetty, marinas, airport, and seaport in Langkawi.

Despite questions on whether tourists can wear bikinis and shorts or swimming trunks on the beach or non-Muslim travelers not being able to buy alcohol, there is a “great need” to rebuild Langkawi’s image as a global island hideaway.

“We have never received any instructions in black-and-white from the authorities forbidding this. But you can see the worried looks on their faces,” one industry insider confesses.

However, Kedah Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor dismisses these complaints as baseless.

Another obstacle is the fiscal barrier – the cost of flights. The flight tickets from Kuala Lumpur to Langkawi alone could cost over RM3,000 (640 USD). That is almost twice the cost during pre-pandemic times.

The declining number of visitors to Langkawi is a stark contrast to last year’s scenario when the island saw a recovery after Covid-19 pandemic restrictions were lifted with over 2.5 million arrivals.

This led Lada to project 3.2 million arrivals for this year.

Read the full article HERE.

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