Mahathir: Theme park can attract tourists to Langkawi

He says island still has enough land to be used to start such a project.

Mahathir and his wife were taken around the Langkawi Nature Park, a natural park that has become the island’s newest tourist attraction. (Gambar Bernama)

LANGKAWI: A theme park can be another product that can be developed in Langkawi to attract more tourists all year round to the island, Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said today.

He said the island still had enough land to be used to start such a project and some Malaysian companies had demonstrated the capability to implement the idea.

“Many have been involved in this area (working on theme parks) and they have received a good response,” he said when opening the Langkawi Nature Park, a natural park that has become the island’s newest tourist attraction.

According to him, organising international events such as the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition (LIMA) since the 1990s had attracted a large number of tourists but this only took a few days.

“LIMA is only held for four days. We want a tourism project that can attract many tourists throughout the year. This can be done through a theme park project, “he said.

Meanwhile, Mahathir, who is also Langkawi MP, said his government had some plans to attract more tourists to the island.

Among them was providing facilities for tourism products in the mountains and the islands around Langkawi.

He said mangrove swamps here were also unique attractions and should be provided with convenient facilities to enable tourists to enjoy them.

“We will endeavour to conserve the mangrove areas but we need to have more facilities for tourists. If this (mangrove swamp) is interesting but cannot be seen, it is useless,” he said.

Mahathir and his wife, Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali, were taken around the park area which has over 80 species of local and foreign animals. -FMT