KUALA LUMPUR: Langkawi hopes to attract investors to develop its premium retail, healthcare and education sectors as it eyes revenue of RM4.25 billion in tourism receipts this year from an expected 2.5 million tourists, according to Langkawi Development Authority (Lada) CEO Nasaruddin Abdul Muttalib.
“Currently, we do not have a big shopping complex or premium outlet in Langkawi, so most of our international tourists will continue their vacation in Kuala Lumpur or Penang, just for the purpose of shopping. (We hope) we can have premium outlets and high-end shopping complexes in Langkawi so (that tourists) can spend more time and more (money) in Langkawi,” he told SunBiz in an interview.
Nasaruddin noted that Bina Darulaman Bhd is developing a premium outlet next to Langkawi International Airport, which is expected to be completed in 2024. The project has a gross development cost of RM233 million.
Additionally, Lada aims to make Langkawi a top choice for health tourism for which it hopes to attracts tourists from nearby areas such as southern Thailand and northern Sumatra.
“We believe if we can complete the package with good international medical services, it will make Langkawi a better destination. We can cater this health tourism for the southern Thailand people and northern Sumatran population,” he added.
Nasaruddin said, a few companies have approached Lada but none has secured an agreement for development thus far. It is open to any proposal to develop its health tourism.
Lada also sees an opportunity to develop its education sector, especially international schools, driven by the increase in the number of expatriates in the area.
Nasaruddin said international schools are able to cater to expatriates in Langkawi and the northern region, including Kedah and Penang. More and more expatriates are coming to Kulim and Sungai Petani, too.
“We believe Langkawi is a good destination for international schools, including international campuses for universities. We have a good connectivity with flights. We expect these students to stay in hostels (and for) international schools (to have) boarding facilities. We are in talks with a few investors but all are still in planning stage. But it is the (sector) that Langkawi is looking (to develop).
“Basically we want Langkawi to be the top destination choice for domestic and international tourists. Actually, we (Malaysia) need one destination that can compete with other international destinations in this region. We believe Langkawi can well represent Malaysia for this purpose (international tourism standards),” he remarked.
Nasaruddin shared that, currently, there are 10 five-star hotels on the island and it hopes to attract more high-end hotel investment.
“Coming up is ParkRoyal which will start operating this December. In the pipeline, we also have a Hilton hotel coming up in Burau Bay which is expected to be completed in 2024,“ he said.
On leasing land to investors, Nasaruddin said interested investors can directly deal with Lada in order to fast track the process, subject to Lada’s approval.
“In total we have more than 2,500 acres of land. Some have already been developed (and) some are still under negotiations. But we still have more than 500 acres to offer to be developed by investors,” he stated.
Nasaruddin is optimistic on the tourism outlook this year, but pointed out that there are still countries imposing strict travelling restrictions, making it a challenge for Lada to woo more tourists to visit the island. Nevertheless, he believes that 2023 will be better than this year, for the tourism industry.
“We believe more and more countries will ease their procedures for travelling.
For 2023, Lada is expecting 3 million tourists which it reckons will generate revenue of RM6 billion.
“Tourism is still our main focus. For next year, our focus is to increase the number of international tourists coming to Langkawi with the assumption that more countries will ease their travelling procedures and we hope that China will open up next year and that (will) really help in terms of tourist numbers for Langkawi,” Nasaruddin said.
Source: The Sun Daily
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