Bird Watching An Additional Tourism Value To Langkawi

LANGKAWI (Kedah, Malaysia), Oct 21 (Bernama) -- Bird watching can bring additional tourism value to Langkawi if efforts are intensified to promote the outdoor activity, Langkawi Development Authority (LADA) chief executive officer, Khalid Ramli said here, Tuesday. He said countries such as Canada and Mexico could earn as much as US$25 billion annually from tourists who flocked in just for bird watching and Langkawi had a wide diversity of species that could offer similar attraction. "If we could achieve just a fraction of it... say RM25 million (US$5.8 million), it would be quite a substantial value to be added into our tourism industry," he told reporters after launching a booklet on "Avian Life in Langkawi" here. According to him, the launching of the booklet came as a significant step taken by LADA towards promoting bird and butterfly watching activities in Langkawi. Langkawi is an archipelago of islands located off the northwestern coast of mainland Kedah on the Malaysian peninsular. "We have about 263 species of birds in Langkawi and several of the species could only be found here," he said. Khalid said five areas in Langkawi namely the Gunung Machinchang, Pantai Chenang, Kilim, Gunung Raya and Pulau Tuba-Pulau Dayang Bunting had been identified as Langkawi Interesting Birding Areas (LIBA). He said Langkawi also had several specialised tour guides with vast international experience in bird watching to guide tourists who came in for the activity. Meanwhile, LADA is organising a Naturally Langkawi Photo Quest competition in conjunction with the launching of the booklet, which offers a total cash prize of US$3,494 (RM15,000). (US$1 = RM4.29) Those wishing to get more information on the contest can contact Nor Azman Yusoff at (006) 04-9600630 or by surfing www.lada.gov.my and www.naturallylangkawi.my. -- BERNAMA