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408128
Mon, 05/30/2016 - 07:47
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More Worldclass Facilities For Langkawi Under Second Tourism Blueprint - PM Najib

LANGKAWI (Kedah, Malaysia), May 29 (Bernama) -- More worldclass facilities are planned to be built in Langkawi island of Malaysia's northern state Kedah in its next tourism blueprint, Prime Minister Najib Razak said on Sunday night. He said more international conventions and sports events would be organised to attract more upmarket tourists to Langkawi. "When I launched the (first) blueprint five years ago, I envisioned that we should bring Langkawi to the next level. "Today, we see the plan is working," he said when speaking at the official opening of the St Regis Langkawi hotel here. The Malaysia's King, Tuanku Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah attended the official opening of the six-star hotel. Najib said a plan was underway to create a cosmetic centre in Langkawi and this plan should be pursued in a creative manner. He said the first Langkawi Tourism Blueprint which he launched in 2011 had seen the Langkawi International Convention Centre and the six-star St Regis Langkawi as among the world-class infrastructures that were completed. According to the prime minister, the establishment of high class hotel brands in Langkawi augured well to facilitate the creation of high-paying jobs, especially for the locals. "I am so glad that St Regis has employed 80 per cent local people from Langkawi and (other parts of) Kedah," he said. He said the success of the next tourism plan needed strong collaboration between the federal and state government, as well as the private sector. "I would like us to work together to ensure that the next level of development to bring Langkawi to a higher level of tourism development will be accomplished," he said. The prime minister added, opening up luxury hotels such as The St Regis Langkawi is a strategy to boost the reputation of the island resort particularly among upmarket tourists. He said Langkawi Island would become more internationally known through other developments to follow. "What we have not been able to do is bring upmarket or premium tourists to Langkawi. When we can do so, we will get more high paying jobs and more demand for handicrafts," he said. Najib said the six star hotel would lead to more tourism infrastructures to cater to high-income tourists. Najib said the government also planned to increase the number of direct flights to Langkawi as an added measure to draw in more tourists to the island. He said there was currently only one direct international flight, from Guangzhou, China and that more direct flights would put Langkawi on the world tourism map. According to him, the opening of the The St Regis Langkawi also symbolised the successful cooperation between the government and private sector and the close relations between the Malaysian and Indonesian governments. "The result, this hotel was completed in 19 months. This is a record in terms of government and private sector cooperation which enabled the successful completion of project of international standard and on budget," he said. The St Regis Langkawi is a joint venture between Malaysia's Finance Ministry through the Ministry of Finance Incorporated and Rajawali Group, an Indonesian conglomerate. Kedah Chief Minister Ahmad Bashah Md Hanipah, Chief Secretary to the Government Dr Ali Hamsa, Rajawali Group chief executive officer Peter Sandakh accompanied the prime minister during the visit. --BERNAMA

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