New route opens from Doha to Langkawi in Kedah. Malaysia is all set to welcome even more tourists with the new route of Qatar Airways launching its first flight to the island in October. The flight will run between Hamad International Airport in the Qatar capital city of Doha and Langkawi International Airport, with a short transit in Penang.

To the initiation it is said to be four times a week flights which are supposed to run (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday) to Langkawi from the date of its launch on October 15^th  which will later be increased to five times a week, Friday shall to added into the schedule from October 27^th. All the flights introduced will run on the airline’s state-of-the-art Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft, having 22 Business Class seats and 232 more in Economy Class for passengers.

According to Qatar Airways group chief executive Akbar Al Baker, since the initiation of Penang route service, the airline was constantly burdened with the request to include Langkawi on its route as a lot of commuters takes the very route, said Akbar Al Baker at a press conference in Kuala Lumpur recently.

The airline is committed to growing its presence in Asia, especially in South-East Asia. Akbar Al Baker  shared “Langkawi is one of the most highly sought-after destinations in Malaysia and I am certain our flights will help increase accessibility and boost inbound tourism to this beautiful archipelago,”

“Langkawi is definitely not the last destination for us in Malaysia as we have recognised other key locations here too. But everything else is still in the planning stages,” said Al Baker.

In terms of connectivity, the airline flies to more than 160 destination all over the world. The press conference also marked the presence of Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir, chief executive officer (CEO) of Langkawi Development Authority (LADA) Dr Hezri Adnan and Qatar Ambassador to Malaysia, Fahad Mohammed Kafoud.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Langkawi Development Authority (LADA) Dr Hezri Adnan noted that the new service from Qatar Airways – voted “Airline of the Year” for the fifth time this year by Skytrax – is in line with with LADA’s plans to further strengthen the island’s position as a top international destination.

“It also augurs well for Langkawi’s economy and tourism industry as we get ready to welcome visitors from across the globe,” he said.

As Malaysia expects to welcome and host approximately 30 million tourists and garner RM100bil in tourist receipts next year with the Visit Malaysia Campaign, Hezri shared that up until June this year, Langkawi’s tourist arrival numbers have reached 1.5 million; overall, Malaysia welcomed 13.15 million international tourists in the first half of 2019, and recorded a 6.8% growth in tourist receipts  and with the new route coming in way it will increase the tourist arrival rate tremendously.