Langkawi never seems to have attracted the level of international interest that some of the other Asian islands targeting tourists, most notably Bali and Phuket. Even its duty-free status has not resulted in a big inflow of tourists. We have talked to the Langkawi Development Authority (LADA) about working with them to give the island more publicity but they have never seemed that keen.
Recently, LADA were bemoaning the fact they do not have many direct international flights coming to Langkawi. Currently, the only international flights are from Singapore. We agree that more direct flights would help. However, a recent survey we conducted among resident expats revealed that only 14% had visited Langkawi in the last year, compared with 35% to Penang, so maybe they should be trying to build up more awareness among local expats to help spread the word and generate more tourism.
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