Finally, the moment Langkawi hotels and travel agents have been waiting for has arrived.
The first direct flight from Singapore to Langkawi is coming in on Dec 3, 2021 at 5.20pm.
The Scoot Airlines TRA 76 will be landing at the Langkawi international Airport (LIA).
The tourists are expected to stay in several hotels on the island.
The tourists will fly to the LIA three times a week starting from Dec 3, 5,6,10, 12, 13, 17,19, 20, 24, 26, 27 and 31.
Just as foreign tourists begin to trickle into Langkawi, Health Director General Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah announced that several countries will not be allowed temporarily to take part in Langkawi’s travel bubble programme.
This is due to the emergence of the omicron virus found in several countries around the world.
Among the countries which are United Kingdom, Portugal, Netherlands, Australia, Canada, South Korea, Hong Kong, Israel, Italy, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Nigeria, Belgium, Japan, Brazil, Norway, Czech Republic, France or Reunion Island, Austria, Spain, Saudi Arabia, Ghana, Ireland, UAE and California in the United States.
Meanwhile, there have been calls from several local NGOs In response to calls to ban foreign tourists from coming to Langkawi,
In response, Malaysian Association of Hotels Kedah/Perlis, Eugene Dass said that it is too early to take any drastic action.
“Even the South African government has said that the new omicron virus is comparatively mild.
“Langkawi’s tourism industry has been suffering for so long due to the MCO. People’s livelihood and overall economy has been greatly impacted,” added Eugene.
Another Langkawi based tour and travel agent, C. Vijay says that many of the foreign tourists have already paid for their hotel stays and confirmed their bookings.
“This latest development has brought much confusion and panic not only among the tourists but also the hotels,” added Vijay.