Why Few Holidaymakers Return To Visit Langkawi

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MY first visit to Langkawi was in the 1980s after the company that I worked for had stationed several large tour buses there and were among the handful operating on the island at that time.
I stayed at an international-class hotel which was then known as the Langkawi Country Club.
In 1994, I was involved in organising the first Langkawi tourist guide training course and was provided accommodation at the Delima Hotel, which was speedily constructed using timber. Both the hotel and the wooden structures no longer exist, forgotten, and passed into history.
In 2016, I attended a three-week course in Langkawi with participants from other Asean countries and qualified as one of the two Asean master tourism trainers for travel agencies in Malaysia. I stayed at the Holiday Villa Beach Resort & Spa at Pantai Tengah, Langkawi.

In early 2020, I was back at Langkawi to conduct a Travel and Tours Enhancement Course (TTEC), and stayed at a tourist-class hotel in the main town of Kuah.
In September 2021, the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture took advantage of the first travel bubble and organised a workshop in Kuah to revise the TTEC, which I attended. I went on to conduct the Training of Trainers (TOT) in early 2022 at Kuala Lumpur.
Understandably, most of the shops near the hotel in Kuah were shuttered, badly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. It has been three years since I last visited Langkawi, and tourism operators there are still waiting for droves of visitors to descend on the island.
The latest opportunity came with the long holidays over Malaysia Day celebrations and second term school holidays.

While thousands of Malaysians crossed the border to visit South Thailand, it was relatively quiet in Langkawi, with hotel occupancy rate dipping below 60%. In contrast, it was over 90% in Terengganu.
The low occupancy rate was disclosed by Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH) Kedah and Perlis chapter chairman Eugene Dass, citing the lack of new attractions on the island resort.
He urged the authorities to step up promotions for Langkawi and improve the public transportation links, particularly the ferry services.
The above narratives confirmed that the popularity of Langkawi has waned and is unlikely to recover.

In 1987, fortunes were smiling when the island was designated as Malaysia’s first duty-free zone and completion of major renovations of the Langkawi airport, with the first international flight landing the following year.
In the early years, foreign tourists were attracted to Langkawi because of its rustic charms. Then, it was an unspoilt tropical paradise and not threatened by possible volcanic eruptions, earthquakes or typhoons, unlike Indonesia in the west and south, with Vietnam and the Philippines in the east.
Sadly, poor control had done untold damage to the island. For example, walking along Jalan Pantai Cenang felt like any other inland town, as the view of the sea is mostly blocked by shops, restaurants and budget hotels.
If there were no man made structures between the road and the beach, this stretch could have been turned into a golden mile lined with luxury hotels and upscale restaurants all on one side that would attract high-spending tourists, and even some superyachts anchored nearby or berthed at a jetty.

If so, the public and hotel guests at ground level would have an unobstructed view of beach and sea activities such as sunbathing, beach volleyball, swimming, snorkelling, kayaking, jet skiing, parasailing or just relaxing by strolling on the sandy beach.
All my five trips to Langkawi were by air from Kuala Lumpur, as I did not fancy travelling by express bus or leaving my car at Kuala Kedah, much less to jostle with holiday crowd at the jetty, take the two hour ferry ride to Kuah, and having to brave possible rough seas and high waves. It is unlikely I will visit Langkawi again.
While accommodation is easily available, the food in Langkawi is far from great, just like in Alor Setar when I conducted a Mesra Malaysia course in 2019.
Incidentally, food in Pangkor, another holiday island where I went to conduct training twice, leaves much to be desired.

New and unknown destinations certainly need promotions, but not Langkawi, which is already well known but mostly for the wrong reasons.
Furthermore, if promotions alone can draw visitors, then many other destinations that spent large amounts on promotions would be teeming with tourists, but this did not happen.
Also, having new attractions may not necessarily draw visitors. Even without new attractions, throngs of tourists continue to pour into South Thailand, Penang, Ipoh, Kuala Lumpur and Melaka.
Great food and value for money is more important, as most people have three meals a day and favourite drinks in between, apart from shopping.
Lest we forget, most holidaymakers are not first-time visitors, as many would return or recommend to others if they had enjoyed their stay immensely.
Their word-of-mouth, including the use of social media, has a telling effect on others. Unfortunately for Langkawi, the negative perceptions and comments far outweigh the positives. 
YS Chan is master trainer for Mesra Malaysia and Travel and Tours Enhancement Course and an Asean Tourism Master Trainer. He is also a tourism and transport business consultant.

The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of  MMKtT.
- Focus Malaysia.

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