TWO weeks since the start of the Langkawi tourism bubble, businesses have not seen any sign of economic recovery, despite throngs of Malaysians heading to the island, industry experts said.

Those hardest hit, the experts told The Malaysian Insight, are the budget hotels because visitors have opted for luxury hotels due to their amenities.

The bubble, which started on September 16, saw 12,607 tourists visiting the island in the first week.

Malaysia Inbound Chinese Association deputy president Saw Beng Teik, who had just returned from Langkawi, said the local tourism industry has not seen much improvement.

Be it homesteads, car rentals or restaurants, the business volume remains low, he said.

However, four-star and five-star hotels, have been booked solid with a high number of families preferring to stay in and use the swimming pool, rather than go sightseeing, Saw said.

“The scenic spots around the island such as the mangroves, cable cars and beaches are deserted during the day. Only in the evening, people come out for walks on Chenang beach to watch the sunset.”

While there were not that many tourists out and about the island, Saw said that his flight back to Kuala Lumpur on September 24 was full and the airport was crowded.

When the travel bubble was first announced, Saw said travel agencies received many enquiries but not much follow up, partly because there were not many packages available.

“Car rental business is slow because the hotels provide this service for free for two or three days and they also throw in a free one night stay for customers who have booked a two-day, one-night stay.

However, despite the slow start, Saw said his agency had filled its bookings for October 1 to 7.

People who were initially reluctant to visit the island are now more open to the idea because it is not crowded and there have been no Covid-19 cases reported on the island.

Of the 12,607 tourists who visited the island from September 16 to 22, state tourism, arts and culture, youth and sports, entrepreneur development and cooperatives committee chairman Mohd Firdaus Ahmad said 11,853 were Malaysians and 754 were expats living in Malaysia. The borders have remained closed for international travellers.

There were 8,587 tourists who arrived by plane, while 4,020 arrived by ferry through the two jetties.

Luxury hotels have higher occupancy

Malaysian Association of Hotels chief executive officer Yap Lip Seng said hotels are only full during the weekends.

From September 16 to 19, the occupancy rate for four- and five-star hotels was 44.63%, a drop of 36% compared with pre-pandemic times.

For the same period, occupancy rate for one- and two-star hotels was 19.2%, similarly a 45% drop.

Yap said he expects the figures to show four- and five-star hotels were 35% occupied from September 20 to 24 to be around 35.09%, with other hotels showing just 11.8%.

No one cares about B&Bs

Local tourism operator Rohaiza who owns Envomarin Travel and Tours said most who travel to Langkawi are upper-middle income people who prefer to stay in luxury hotels, not homesteads.

She has not had a single booking since the bubble commenced on September 16.

“Kampung homestay is not popular among the locals. It is mainly for foreigners. I have one booking from a regular from the Netherlands, who booked for the end of the year and the other bookings are for February and March next year.

“I charge a deposit for the bookings, so at least I have some cash flow. In the past, I had 40 cars to rent out but, due to Covid-19, I had to sell them as the maintenance cost was too high. They have not been used for two years and all the tyres needed to be replaced. I couldn’t afford it,” she said.

Meanwhile, Hussein, who owns Mega Sport Tourism, said many are still afraid to visit the island due to the epidemic.

He said fewer than 10 people have booked outings with his island-hopping and water activities company during September and October, with none at all for November and December.

However, he was optimistic there might be some last-minute bookings. He also doubted the tourism figures quoted in the press, because there were not many people in the malls or night markets, he said.

“All the residents in Langkawi have been fully vaccinated so it is safe to travel here. It is also good to see all the travel operators comply with the standard operating procedures to keep people safe.

“We had zero income for 17 months. If business doesn’t improve and the government opens up other travel bubbles, we may lose even more money.”

Last week, Tourism and Culture Minister Minister Nancy Shukri said Malacca, Pulau Tioman and Genting Highlands have been shortlisted as potential tourist bubble destinations.

The tourism bubbles are only open to Malaysians who have been fully vaccinated for at least two weeks after their second dose, or 28 days for one-shot vaccines.

Those travelling must also undergo a Covid-19 test. – September 29, 2021.