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Langkawi News - Updates on Tsunami
Malaysia Remains A Safe Destination For Tourist
All gateways and airports are opened and it is business as usual, the country remains a safe destination for tourists, said Tourism Ministry Secretary-General Datuk Dr Victor Wee.
"In Penang and Langkawi, all hotels and resorts in the affected areas are now operating as usual while tourist attractions are not affected," he said in a statement here yesterday.
The tsunami, the first ever to hit the country, was triggered by an 8.9 magnitude earthquake in northern Sumatra, Indonesia, Sunday. The affected states were Penang, Kedah, Perak and Perlis.
Few cancellations, ATF on track
It's full steam ahead for the ASEAN Tourism Forum in Langkawi from January 21-29, 2005 despite the pounding that parts of the island took from the killer tsunami on December 26. The Mahsuri Convention Centre, as is most of the infrastructure, has been spared the tsunami's fury.
TravelWeekly understands that Tourism Malaysia is taking all the necessary steps to assure sellers, buyers and delegates that Langkawi is safe and is ready to welcome ATF delegates.
Most of the damage was confined to the Cenang and Kok beach areas, with the Pelangi Beach Resort being one of the worst hit due to its open location. Most other hotels, such as The Andaman and Holiday Villa, were not even "touched" as they were sheltered by nearby islands, which broke the giant waves before they could reach the beachfront.
Most of the hoteliers, whom TravelWeekly spoke to, said there was minimal damage to property and no injuries to staff and guests. At press time, most have cleaned up the beach and areas that were filled with mud and debris, and are fully operational. They also reported few cancellations and, at press time, none for rooms taken up for ATF. Kenneth de Silva, general manager of business development and special projects, said there were minimal cancellations, "only a few for January". All the allotments for ATF are holding and he does not see any effects on the event.
The Datai, like its sister property, Andaman, also escapes unscathed except for "damage to the sunbed and several boats", said its manager Jamie Case, and are fully operational.Both hotels reported a few cancellations in the first two days following the quake, from Hong Kong and Singapore, but their allocation was quickly snapped up, according to a reservation staff from the hotels. Both hotels are fully booked till the first week of January, as are the reservations for ATF.
Meanwhile the ASEAN Tourism Association, organiser of the ASEAN Tourism Conference at ATF, has confirmed former Malaysian Premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed as keynote speaker.He will speak on "Travel and Tourism - Bonding ASEAN For Greater Prosperity". But given recent calamity, he may well decide to address issues related to them, said ASEANTA secretary-general, Tunku Dato Seri Iskandar bin Tunku Abdullah, Over in Penang, most beach hotels are also displaying the "full house" sign for the next two weeks as the impact of the tsunami at the tourism belt of Batu Ferringhi was minimal, said the Malaysian Association Of Hotels (MAH) Penang Chapter.
"There are no casualties of hotel guests reported. The situation is back to normal as all hotels are operating as usual while tourist attractions are not affected," said the Chapter chairman, Dato' Eric Lim.
Communications vital during current crisis: MATTA Corinne Wan
There is a need to reassure the international travel and tourism industry and send out the message that Malaysia is a safe destination despite two of its main tourist destinations, Penang and Langkawi, being hit by the deadly tsunami on December 26. "This has, necessarily, to be done by the Ministry of Tourism. We also need to activate the Tourism Crisis Management Committee to, at least coordinate the communication statements that are made. In the absence of any such statement, the Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents had issued its own statement on the situation, " said MATTA, Tunku Dato' Seri Iskandar bin Tunku Abdullah, "I do not believe that the effect on Penang and Langkawi, if communications are properly made, will be long term. But in the short term, there will be a negative impact on all of the affected countries."
Iskandar added that there would not be any negative impact on the ASEAN Tourism Forum, except that delegates from South Thailand might opt to miss out on the event. "However, I hope that we will use the occasion to brainstorm on what the industry could do to rehabilitate the industry. As Malaysia and Thailand are closely bonded together in tourism we must quickly put our heads together to come up with programmes to help each other. The MATTA-Malaysian Association of Hotels-Association of Thai Travel Agents-Thai Hotels Association 'eight eyes' understanding, which we signed last April, should be the platform for us to do this."
Kuala Lumpur
