KUALA LUMPUR: Tourism Malaysia has lauded 18 initiatives announced by Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak last week to boost tourism in Langkawi in the next five years.
Its director-general, Datuk Seri Mirza Mohammad Taiyab, said for the last 20 years, Langkawi has been on their special focus and the island is an attractive product for the tourism industry.
“I see the 18 initiatives announced by our Prime Minister for the future development of Langkawi as a brilliant effort by the government in order to help the tourism industry grow better.
He said the government had already implemented various efforts to upgrade facilities in Langkawi, including the expansion of the airport and the presence of several world renowned luxury hotels and resorts for tourists.
“These initiatives will clearly help bring more tourists to Langkawi and Malaysia in general. We are targeting around 1.5 million European tourists for our country in this year alone”, he said during a press conference in conjunction with the European Travel Agents and Tour Operator Association’s (ECTAA) 117th semi-annual meeting.
ECTAA president, Merika Hallik, said the semi-annual meeting is part of the ‘Preferred Destination’ agreement signed between its organisation and Tourism Malaysia to help boost the visibility of Malaysia in Europe.
“We intend to contribute to the Visit Malaysia 2020 (VM2020) campaign, that is projected to welcome 36 million tourists to Malaysia.
“This meeting in Malaysia is one of its kind. European travel agents will be able to experience Malaysian life and see the gems it holds for European travellers.
“We are confident that the Preferred Destination agreement will be mutually beneficial for travel agents and tour operators of Europe and Malaysia.
Also present at the meeting was The Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA) president, Datuk Tan Kok Liang.
Previously, Najib had said the 18 initiatives for the island was prove of the Barisan Nasional government’s commitment to fully realise Langkawi’s true potential as a world class tourism destination.
The initiatives will complement existing initiatives by the federal government, including the RM1.3 billion allocation to upgrade infrastructure in Langkawi announced by Najib in February.