Island cruising to a new high

Langkawi poised to become cruise destination for Europeans

KUALA LUMPUR: Langkawi may soon see an influx of European tourists as the paradise island is being positioned to become a cruise destination for the European market.

One of Europe’s oldest tour operator, TUI Group, has opened its first office in South-East Asia here and is working with Tourism Malaysia to promote Langkawi as a cruise hub.

TUI is working on flying in more than 7,000 tourists into Langkawi from London, Birmingham and Manchester for a cruise in Asean waters aboard Marella and Mein Schiff cruise ships.

Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Mohamaddin Ketapi, in his speech read by Tourism Malaysia deputy director-general of promotions Datuk Seri Abdul Khani Daud at a press conference, said TUI’s clients would be a valuable contribution to the ministry’s objective to achieve 30 million tourists and 100 billion receipts by 2020.

When asked about overtourism and the sustainability of the island, Abdul Khani said the carrying capacity for Langkawi was still at “manageable levels”.

“We want to make sure the island is always at the top of the minds of tourists from all over the world, so sustainability and ecotourism are very important,” he said.

He added that overtourism was worrying as they did not want Langkawi to suffer the same fate as Cebu Island in the Philippines, which was shut down for six months in April due to extensive environmental damage.

An increasing number of popular tourist islands around the world have suffered the same fate as mass tourism burdens the islands with unsustainable development, pollution and environmental destruction.

Thailand’s famous Maya Bay, famously known as The Beach, is the most recent to be closed indefinitely to allow the island to recover from damage caused by millions of tourists.

Last March, the Perak government declared Pulau Sembilan off limits as overcrowding was threatening the conservation of the luminescent blue planktons found on the coastline.