A feather in its cap: A majestic sight of Langkawi’s latest attraction, the Eagle’s Nest Skywalk. — Photo credit Langkawi Development Authority (Lada)
LANGKAWI: With more cruise visits and chartered flights from Poland, Langkawi is set to end the year with a bang, anticipating the arrival of some three million tourists.
Langkawi Development Authority (Lada) chief executive officer Datuk Haslina Abdul Hamid said the figure is an increase from the 2,810,322 tourists to the island between January and December last year.
“We believe we can reach the target with the eight additional international and local events in the November and December calendar.
“With the increased frequency of chartered flights from Warsaw, Poland, and 14 luxury cruises from various international destinations, we are confident we can achieve this goal,” she said.
Haslina said the new direct flight from Poland would arrive once a week on every Sunday until March.
“As of September 2024, we welcomed 24,362 visitors from Poland, surpassing the previous year’s haul.
“In 2023, a total of 21,472 Polish tourists came here,” she said.
Haslina said the arrival of the chartered flights from Poland is a remarkable milestone for Langkawi’s tourism industry.
She also said the people of Langkawi are prepared to showcase the island’s natural beauty and warm hospitality to the Polish visitors.
“This initiative will not only boost the local economy but also strengthen international relations and cultural exchange.
“The introduction of this new route presents an excellent opportunity to attract more European tourists to Malaysia,” she lauded.
Haslina said Lada’s statistics revealed that tourist arrivals to Langkawi in September were 2.105 million visitors, which was an increase of 2.72% from September last year.
“For October, we anticipated over 250,000 tourists to the island,” she noted.
Haslina also said Langkawi had successfully hosted numerous international events, significantly enhancing its appeal as a holiday and sports destination.
“In October, Langkawi hosted several key events, such as the Ironman Malaysia on Oct 12, the Apec 64th Tourism Working Group Meeting (TWG64) from Oct 15 to 17, the Langkawi Writers’ Festival on Oct 18 and the Lada Fun Run on Oct 19. These events are crucial for attracting more visitors to the island,” she said.
She said there are many popular tourist attractions on the island, with the latest being the Eagle’s Nest Skywalk, a cantilever glass platform that extends 65m in length and protrudes an additional 38m beyond the cliff edge.
Located at the peak of the Middle Station, it resembles an eagle’s head looking over its nest.
The Skywalk is 650m above sea level and can accommodate about 300 visitors simultaneously, equivalent to a weight limit of 21 tonnes.
Another latest attraction is the Oyster Farm Langkawi at the Kubang Badak BioGeo Trail, where visitors will have the opportunity to taste some of the freshest oysters straight from the sea, paired with authentic local sambal.
The oyster farm is part of Community Based Tourism (CBT) run by the local community of Kampung Kubang Badak.
