KUALA LUMPUR: Langkawi could soon see a stronger influx of visitors from Uzbekistan and the Central Asian region, driven by collaborations between Aloft Langkawi Pantai Tengah and travel agencies in that market.
General manager Shanmugam Thangavelu said the hotel is tapping Uzbekistan and neighbouring markets to broaden its tourist base, stepping up collaborations with travel agencies and the Langkawi Development Authority (Lada) to widen its international reach.
He said arrivals from Central Asia are still modest, but early signs are encouraging, particularly with the introduction of direct connectivity.
“Recently we had a direct flight from Uzbekistan coming, and you can see some of them from Eastern Europe coming here as well,” Shanmugam told SunBiz, noting that the trend, while gradual, points to a broader diversification of Langkawi’s visitor mix.
The hotel’s market development strategy is closely tied to joint efforts with Lada, especially in tapping regional travel flows.
Shanmugam said recent initiatives included outreach trips to southern Peninsular Malaysia to attract visitors from Johor and neighbouring Singapore. “Regional travel remains important. We recently visited Johor, where we are trying to attract more people from Johor and Singapore to come to Langkawi. This is done together with Lada.”
Beyond domestic and regional pushes, Aloft Langkawi is also aligning with Lada on international promotions, including participation in major travel trade events.
“Most of our travel efforts – for example, when the first flight from Uzbekistan came in – we worked together with Lada on sales calls,” Shanmugam said.
The collaborative approach, he added, allows the hotel to extend its marketing reach while managing costs, particularly in new and emerging source markets where awareness of Langkawi is still developing.
Elaborating on outreach to Central Asia, Shanmugam said the hotel is already in discussions with partners in Uzbekistan and conducts periodic reviews to assess how to grow the market.
He added that Langkawi is also seeing seasonal connectivity from Europe, particularly Poland, which supports inbound travel during the winter months.
“We have seasonal direct flights from Poland. This year, they are expected to start towards the end of December and run for about three months, until March 2027. This coincides with their winter period,” he said.
According to Shanmugam, the arrangement typically involves one flight a week, with a steady rotation of arrivals and departures.
“There’s usually one flight per week. The group that arrives will depart the following Friday, and a new batch comes in on the same day,” he said, adding that such efforts reflect Lada’s continued push to improve connectivity into Langkawi.
More on partnerships, Shanmugam said the hotel is widening its collaborations beyond tourism bodies to include banks and local businesses.
“We work quite closely with banks as well. Guests using Visa or Mastercard, for instance, can enjoy certain discounts,” he said.
At the same time, the hotel is building joint offerings with on-ground partners to enhance the overall guest experience.
“We also partner with local businesses. For example, with our spa, we have value-added packages where guests can book a room together with spa treatments at a more attractive rate,” Shanmugam said.
He added that the focus is shifting towards more lifestyle-driven bundles rather than conventional room-and-meal deals. “We are trying to package these as lifestyle experiences, not just accommodation. So we are still working on bringing in more partnerships to support that approach.”
On tourism spending patterns, Shanmugam said travellers are becoming more cautious, particularly in the current environment.
“There is a noticeable shift. People are more conscious about what they spend now,” he said, adding that the hotel has adjusted its offerings in response.
In the food and beverage department, for instance, the hotel has introduced more affordable meal options alongside its regular a la carte menu to cater to value-oriented guests, especially families.
“We have come up with reasonably valued meals so that larger groups and families still have accessible dining choices. The idea is to make sure more guests can enjoy a proper meal with us, even if they are watching their budgets,” Shanmugam said.
On whether new flight routes are translating into higher spending, Shanmugam said it is still too early to draw conclusions. “We do not have firm statistics yet. The flights only started recently, around late February, and operations picked up in March. It is been less than three weeks, so there is not enough data to assess spending patterns.”
For now, the focus remains on positioning the hotel to capture demand from more value travellers.
“We are preparing for what’s ahead and making sure our offerings are flexible enough. If some guests feel the à la carte options are on the higher side, they will still have alternatives that suit their budgets,” he said.
On the stronger ringgit, Shanmugam said the currency’s strength has had a limited impact on the hotel segment so far.
“We have not seen any significant change in our segment. The currency movements, including the ringgit strengthening against the Singapore dollar, have not affected us in a meaningful way. Travellers are still travelling.”.
The Sun Malaysia
