The Ritz-Carlton, Langkawi has used the pandemic downtime last year to enhance its offerings in hopes of drawing well-heeled family holidaymakers and increasing their average length of stay.
Currently, the average length of stay is 1.5 days for a domestic tourist, and 7.2 days for an international tourist.
A new addition to the 119-key resort is its 85.26m² Eco-Discovery Centre which dives into the underwater world of Langkawi. Among features within the facility is the sea cucumber reproduction project, where visitors can learn how the sea cucumber plays a valuable role in the marine ecosystem of Langkawi, and the importance of its preservation.
Another new attraction is Teratak Mahsuri, an alfresco cabana by the ocean, where guests can reconnect with nature.
To enhance the guest experience, the resort also includes a surprise element upon check-in, such as gifting children below the age of 12 with an activity bag.
With the revamp, the resort is targeting Gen Y vacationers travelling with young children from both domestic and international markets, shared the hotel’s director of sales and marketing, Zulkifli Rahman.
However, he is banking more on the domestic market through 3Q2022 as the reopening of the island to fully vaccinated travellers since September has only seen “insignificant” number of arrivals from the traditional markets in Europe such as the UK, Scandinavia, and Germany, partly due to the emergence of the Omicron variant.
Last year, the domestic market accounted for 97 per cent of total guest volume, but Zulkifli hopes that by 4Q2022, the ratio of domestic to foreign guests will be more balanced.
Plans to attract Gen Y travellers include social media engagements to promote the resort’s offerings and outdoorsy activities. The resort will also work with travel partners on special tactical campaigns from time to time.
