ARAU, Sept 17 — Raja Muda of Perlis Tuanku Syed Faizuddin Putra Jamalullail today said that Langkawi and Perlis need to develop a strong synergy to jointly promote their tourism products and boost the industry while avoiding unnecessary competition against each other.

He said a comprehensive kind of cooperation would give more advantages to both parties which would bring about positive impact to the local economy, while protecting their respective assets.

“I’m sure that Langkawi and Perlis are striving to attract more tourists. I think the best way is to share their resources and to jointly promote their tourism products in a package that can support and ensure sustainable socio-economic development of the local communities.

“This approach will also help highlight local tourism icons to the international arena,” he said after granting an audience to a delegation of international tourism industry players at Istana Arau here today.

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Also present was Raja Puan Muda of Perlis Tuanku Hajah Lailatul Shahreen Akashah Khalil.

After the audience, the delegation comprising 38 senior executives from tourism companies from 25 countries, who are in their Perlis Royal Tour, were also feted at a royal luncheon.

The group, led by Langkawi Development Authority (LADA) chief executive officer ​​​​​​​Datuk Azizan Noordin, was part of the 1,400 delegations from 70 Pasific Asia Travel Association (PATA) member countries which participated in the PATA Travelmart in Langkawi from Sept 12-14.

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Speaking to reporters later, Azizan said the number of tourist arrivals to Langkawi was expected to reach four million this year and to increase to five million people in 2020 as the result of the organising of the PATA Travelmart.

“The expansion of the Langkawi International Airport which had been completed on Sept 1, will enable it to facilitate and manage four million passengers compared to only 1.3 million previously.

“Langkawi’s tourism revenue in 2020 is also expected to reach RM9 billion,” he said. — Bernama