LANGKAWI: Since the reopening of Langkawi under the Travel Bubble Programme on Malaysia Day, a total of 240,361 domestic tourists have visited the resort island, bankrolling more than RM240mil in revenue for the tourism industry in less than two months.

       Langkawi Development Authority (Lada) chief executive officer Nasaruddin Abdul Muttalib said some 133,626 visitors had touched down by flight, 77,778 people took the ferry from Kuala Kedah and Kuala Perlis terminals while the remaining 28,957 arrived at Langkawi Port in Tanjung Lembung.

       “Tourist arrivals since Sept 16 have generated ripples of excitement here with businesses recording a whopping RM247mil in revenue so far,” he said.

       Nasaruddin said for the month of November, Lada has targeted about 150,000 in tourist arrivals, with the first batch arriving probably from the middle of the month.

       “Based on the arrival trend, we may even achieve 200,000,” he said.

       Nasaruddin said as of now, crowd control has been manageable and visitors have been adhering to the standard operating procedure, especially at places of interest and shopping malls.

       On the Langkawi International Travel Bubble earmarked for Nov 15, Nasaruddin said most international tourists will be arriving via the Kuala Lumpur International Airport through transit or direct flight.

       “We are still waiting for the list of countries allowed to visit Langkawi before we can make a better projection,” he said, adding that there will be no quarantine protocol for international tourists planning to stay here for three days minimum.

       “However, they must take a PCR-Rt test within 48 hours after arrival in Langkawi.

       “Those who come via KLIA, rapid molecular test will be done before they depart. After that, no screening test is required in Langkawi,” he said.