LANGKAWI, Dec 8 — Tourism sector operators continue to offer attractive discounts to local visitors who are expected to return to this tax-free resort island, following the end of the conditional movement control order (CMCO) in several states.
Kedah and Perlis branch of Malaysia Association of Hotels (MAH) vice-chairman Razmi Rahmat said almost all members of the association, especially in Langkawi, are now offering discounts of between 50 to 70 per cent.
"MAH does not make it mandatory for members of the association to give a discount on the price of accommodation but currently an average of almost 40 members, involving three to five star hotels have taken the initiative to give discounts of between 50 to 70 per cent.
"This offer actually started before the CMCO but was affected due to its implementation. Tourists are advised to do a little research and visit the Langkawi hotel websites to find accommodation suitable for their budget," he told Bernama here today.
Razmi hopes that the hospitality industry partners will continue the promotion until the end of the year or early next year to give tourists the opportunity to enjoy attractive accommodation rates.
Water sports operator in Chenang beach, Hussein Mohd Said, said his company also offers a discount on all activities available, in preparation for Langkawi to receive local tourists in huge numbers.
Hussein said his company, which owns 81 jet skis for trips to small islands around Langkawi, had been severely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. He now has high hopes that the domestic tourism sector would recover with the presence of local tourists.
"The CMCO termination as well as the reopening of the domestic tourism sector, has provided us some relief and we take this opportunity to give a discount on ‘Fun Island Hopping’ activities on jet skis," he said.
He said the prices for the package had been reduced by almost half and bookings could be made from yesterday (December 7) to January 31, 2021, and is valid until December 31, 2021.
Second-hand book store owner Mashhor Salleh said foreign tourists had been his main customers in Jalan Pantai Chenang but he is now facing a hard time as currently he could only rely on local tourists.
"Following the CMCO the number of customers has continued to decline. Sales have dropped by 45 per cent, and sometimes customers turn up only on Friday, Saturday and Sunday," he said, adding that the store offers a wide selection of books in 18 languages.
Based on statistics released by the Langkawi Development Authority (Lada), the island received four million visitors (3,924,326) in 2019, but due to the Covid-19 pandemic, visitor arrivals for the period between January to August 2020 were only 1,281,107.
— Bernama
