LANGKAWI: More than 10,000 tourists flocked to the island during the Deepavali holiday, defying claims that domestic travellers are shunning Langkawi.
This robust influx of visitors not only defies pessimistic narratives but also showcases the enduring appeal of Langkawi as a premier holiday destination.
The statistics reveal a diverse array of travel preferences among the visitors, with 6,252 choosing the passenger ferry service, 675 opting for the passenger/vehicle ferry (RoRo), and an additional 3,500 arriving by air.
Konsortium Langkawi Ferry Line Ventures Sdn Bhd (Ferry Line) operations assistant manager Norhafiz Abd Wahid said some 2,406 visitors entered Langkawi via six ferry trips from Kuala Kedah since this morning.
"Another 3,846 visitors arrived in Langkawi via Kuala Perlis via seven ferry trips since 8am.
"There is no additional ferry trips for today after 7pm due to water tide in Kuala Kedah and Kuala Perlis," he said when contacted.
Langkawi Port Sdn Bhd (Langkawi Port) general manager Muhd Nasir Abdul Aziz said 675 visitors travelled to Langkawi via RoRo ferries today.
"Six RoRo ferries are in operation today, all from Kuala Perlis.
"Yesterday, we recorded 1,807 passengers arriving in Langkawi via RoRo ferries," he said when contacted.
Checks on the arrival of Langkawi International Airport (LIA) flight showed 26 inbound flights today from Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Johor Bahru, and Singapore.
An airport staff who declined to be named said they expected 3,500 inbound passengers via the 26 flights today.
"The busiest time is between 2pm and 4pm as seven flights will be arriving, while another seven will be departing the island," he said.
Adya Hotel Langkawi manager Syed Muhammad Firdaus Syed Putra said it recorded a 70 per cent occupancy rate today.
"Based on the current momentum, we are confident of sustaining over 60 per cent occupancy rate for Adya Hotel in Kuah and Chenang until the end of this year.
"Domestic travellers make some 60 per cent of the bookings while the other 40 per cent of bookings are by tourists from the Middle East, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan and Thailand," he said