Langkawi tourism boom a positive start for Visit Kedah Year 2025

 

ALOR STAR: Langkawi has seen a spike in its share of tourists for the year-end holiday season, reflecting a promising start for the Visit Kedah Year 2025 campaign.

The period included the school holidays, which began on Dec 21, as well as Christmas and New Year week.

State Tourism, Culture, Arts and Entrepreneurship Committee chairman Datuk Mohd Salleh Saidin said recent hotel occupancy rates on the island had risen significantly, with data from the Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH) indicating an average of 78 per cent.

"This reflects encouraging progress. Before the holidays, occupancy rates were around 62 per cent. This upward trend marks a promising start for the Visit Kedah Year 2025 campaign," he told the New Straits Times.

Salleh added that Langkawi ferry operators had also reported a sharp increase in tourist arrivals since the start of the school holidays.

"More than 100,000 visitors have travelled to Langkawi by ferry since Dec 20. This is very encouraging, and we hope this positive trend will continue throughout next year," he said.

He urged local tourists who have yet to explore Langkawi to experience the island's unique attractions.

"Some people like to compare Langkawi with southern Thailand, but that isn't fair. They are two distinct destinations with vastly different appeals," he added.

Meanwhile, Langkawi International Airport (LIA) general manager Che Sulaiman Che Pa confirmed the surge in tourist arrivals via air travel since Dec 1.

He said the airport had been welcoming over 3,900 arrivals daily. "Before the school holidays, we recorded around 2,800 to 4,000 passengers daily, with 21 to 29 flights.

"However, since Dec 1, this has increased to between 3,900 and 4,900 passengers daily, with flight numbers rising to 27 to 31 per day," he added.

-nst online.