Langkawi upscale to luxury travel

Vogue Magazine has acknowledged it. Langkawi ranks third as the magazine’s top 10 hottest travel destinations for 2017.

Coming from an international fashion and lifestyle magazine that defines the culture of fashion and lifestyle, it is a verification of the island moving up the value chain.

The Ritz Carlton Langkawi

Vogue’s leadership and authority, as Wikipedia noted, derives from the brand’s unique role as a cultural barometer for a global audience.

In its December 2016 issue, Vogue has vouched for Malaysia especially its pristine beaches as a top travel destination for its socialite readers. “While Malaysia’s cuisine, art, architecture, and beaches are just as fantastic, Langkawi, an archipelago made up of 99 islands on Malaysia’s west coast, is about to put the country on the travel map.”

Read the article online at http://www.vogue.com/13515667/top-travel-destinations-2017/.

The magazine’s choice can easily be explained in the latest development in Langkawi’s hospitality industry. Several six-star resorts are planned and this year alone at least two would have opened for business.

The St. Regis Langkawi

Quoting from Vogue, The St. Regis has opened the country’s first all-suite resort here, complete with a Bill Bensley–designed restaurant and the largest swimmable lagoon on the island. Next summer (in April), the Ritz-Carlton is scheduled to open a 90-room, 30-villa property with a destination spa that will rival even Thailand’s famous wellness retreats.

The same sentiment has been echoed by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak that the opening luxury hotels such as The St Regis Langkawi is a boost for the reputation of the island resort particularly among upmarket tourists.

As Langkawi becomes more internationally known, other infrastructure developments will follow and this will pave the way for travel operators to bring high-income tourists to Langkawi.

Existing hotels in the same league are The Datai, The Andaman, Four Seasons Resort, Tanjung Rhu Resort, The Westin, Casa Del Mar and Vivanta by Taj Rebak Island.

Langkawi Development Authority CEO Datuk Azizan Noordin has said Tourism Malaysia is negotiating more collaborations with international airlines and inviting chartered flights to bring in high-income tourists to Langkawi from Europe, The United States, Australia and New Zealand.