Langkawi July 16, 2011 : The first company of 330 Hong Kong tourists arriving in Langkawi at 1:15pm yesterday on a Cathay Pacific chartered flight received a surprise VIP welcome of traditional Malay drums and dances.

This flight carried only the first contingent of a huge group of 2,400 holiday-makers from Hong Kong arriving on chartered flights over the next four weeks. This mass booking represented a huge promotional boost for Langkawi tourism and LADA was there to roll out the red carpet.

Present was LADA’s Deputy General Manager of Planning & Development Haji Hanaffi Bin Ahmad, who paid tribute at a press conference to the resourceful local travel agents who managed to book such a large group of tourists from Hong Kong, one of our major target markets in Asia.

Mr Hanaffi noted that these tourists will soon discover that Langkawi was a smart choice for their vacation. Although we have all the modern amenities to satisfy urban Hong Kong tourists, they will also be given a taste of the beautiful islands, Langkawi’s rural culture and the wonders of the natural rainforest world.

Mr Hanaffi urged all local travel agencies to work closely together to get more mass holiday bookings from other major cities. “Every tour agency has its own interests,” he acknowledged, “but the cooperation of all parties is the only way to ensure that Langkawi’s tourism industry continues to grow rapidly.”