LANGKAWI: More direct flights should be made to Langkawi to ensure the island resort continues to be one of the main destinations for tourists in the region.
Langkawi Tourism Association deputy chairman Phisol Ishak said the only available direct flight serving the island was from and to Singapore.
Previously, we had direct flights from Bangkok and London, said Phisol.
He said the absence of direct flights made the island less attractive to tourists from other countries.
"Foreign tourists have to come here through package travel, where they have to go to either Kuala Lumpur or Penang first, which is inconvenient for them," he said.
He said for this reason, Thailand had an edge over Malaysia as foreign airlines, especially from European countries, had direct flights to its island resorts.
Phisol said many foreign tourists also flew in to Langkawi through chartered flights, but their arrival was seasonal.
He said it was also necessary to have more direct flights to Langkawi to bring more high-end tourists to realise the objective of the Langkawi Tourism Blueprint 2011-2012.
The objective of the blueprint is to make the legendary island among the 10 best eco-tourism destinations in the world by 2015. -- Bernama