LANGKAWI: The island’s tourism sector continues to record steady growth, with more than 1.5 million visitors arriving in the first six months of this year.
Langkawi Development Authority (Lada) chief executive officer Datuk Seri Iskandar Mohd Kaus said as of June 30, a total of 1,525,953 arrivals had been registered, accounting for 43.6% of its 3.5 million target for 2024.
“Of this, 1,325,225 were domestic travellers, while 200,728 were international visitors, mainly from India, China, the United Kingdom, Poland and Russia,” he said.
He added that numbers were expected to increase further in the third and fourth quarters, driven by major events such as Ironman Malaysia Langkawi and the Langkawi Writers Festival.
“To boost arrivals, Lada, together with Malaysian Aviation Group (MAG), has also introduced the Langkawi Special Deals programme, offering discounts of between 20% and 70%,” he told reporters after the handover of allocations under the Kampung Angkat Madani (KAM) Phase 1 programme at Masjid Ar-Rahman in Kampung Kedawang yesterday.
On community development, Iskandar said Kampung Gelam in Kedawang had received RM1mil in allocations this year.
Masjid Ar-Rahman was given RM635,000 for the construction of an open hall, fencing and roof upgrades, while SK Kedawang received RM50,000 for a new student waiting area, and SMK Kedawang was allocated RM65,000 for improvements to its parking area.
“In total, the Federal Government channelled RM700,000 under the first phase to upgrade mosque and school facilities here. We hope these projects will provide tangible benefits to the local community,” he said.
