Tarikh : 10th January 2022
Masa : 8:00 pm
Tempat : Royal Langkawi Yacht Club
ADDRESSING NOTES
Thank you Mr/Mrs Chairperson,
A very good evening to all. It is my pleasure to welcome everyone to our beautiful venue tonight.
SALUTATION
I. Yang Mulia Tunku Soraya Dakhlah Binti Tunku Tan Sri Abdullah
Rear Commodore Of The Royal Langkawi Yacht Club And Royal Langkawi International Regatta 2023 Organising Chairperson
II. Encik Sharif Majid
III. Yang Berbahagia Dato Abdul Gafar B. Yahya, Pegawai Daerah Langkawi
IV. Dr. Mansor B. Ismail, Pegawai Kesihatan Daerah Langkawi
V. Mr Li Quanhai, President Of World Sailing Association
VI. Yang Mulia Tunku Iskandar Shah Bin Tunku Muszaffar Shah, Yang Di Pertua Majlis Perbandaran Langkawi
VII. Yang Berhormat Dato’ Haji Juhari Bulat, Ahli Dewan Undangan Negeri Ayer Hangat
VIII. Encik Azlan Abdullah, Executive Director, Royal Langkawi Yacht Club
IX. Tan Sri Tan Sri /Puan Sri Puan Sri/Datuk Datuk/Datin Datin
X. Members Of The Media
XI. Participants Of The Regatta
XII. Distinguished Guests
XIII. Ladies & Gentlemen
OPENING REMARKS
1. First and foremost, I would like to thank and extend my warm greetings to everyone present here, for the launch of the 19th Royal Langkawi International Regatta, which marks your support for this sporting initiative for sailors of this region. We are pleased to be able to welcome those of you that have been with us for years now, as well as those of you who are new to the club. Welcome to all participants, crews and supporters to the “99 Magical Islands,” Langkawi. We are delighted to see this event resume after a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic.
UNIQUENESS OF LANGKAWI
Ladies and gentlemen,
2. As an accorded UNESCO Global Geopark, Langkawi is well-known for being a naturally thriving tourism attraction worldwide. The lush and magnificent flora and fauna, celebrated heritage, and multi-cultural population are the main pillars characterising Langkawi’s immense success as a well-established tourism island.
3. Last year, we received several accolades as a result of our efforts to revive the tourism industry post COVID-19 pandemic. We have won the Top #5 Best Islands in Southeast Asia 2022 by Travel and Leisure Magazine, and The Best Holiday Island in Malaysia at the Malaysia Tourism Industry Award 2022, as well as The Brandlaureate Nation’s Pride Bestbrands Awards 2022 in the “Tourism and Destination Branding” category.
ENTERING A RECOVERY PHASE IN 2023
4. In 2023, we aim to thrive in boosting the tourism industry by organising more international level events. The Royal Langkawi International Regatta acts as a curtain raiser for 2023, where it gives a unique opportunity for sailing vessels of various shapes and sizes to race against the gorgeous Andaman Sea.
TOURISM LANGKAWI
Ladies and gentlemen,
5. We are aiming for a total of 3.2 million tourists this year. We believe this figure is relevant in light of the fact that we have received a total of 2.57 million tourists in the past year, which is the biggest achievement for the Langkawi tourism industry post COVID-19 pandemic. Not only that, we can see that many countries are still struggling to revive their tourism industries due to the spike in the spread of the COVID-19 virus, which led to the closure of their country, but look where we are. So, I’m very proud of how far we have come.
6. Also, I am happy to share with all of you that Langkawi has lined up 20 tourism events that will be held this year such as the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition (LIMA), Ironman 70.3 World Championship 2023, Le Tour de Langkawi and many more.
7. I am delighted to note that this year, we will see 25 boats coming from all over the world participating in the biggest sailing event in southeast asia, all the way from Australia, Malaysia, Thailand, Great Britain, Austria, the United Kingdom and Denmark consisting of 177 participants.
8. Apart from that, LADA is also looking forward to seeing the sailors compete for the LADA-IRC Challenge Trophy (IRC 1 Class).
9. The race has developed to become one of the most major events on the Asian Yachting Calendar, eagerly anticipated by both seasoned sailors and novices who actively compete in regional yacht circuits.
10. This event is also covered by over 50 global cruise media outlets, including 16 international networks reaching 974 million people in 166 countries. With this enormous impact, we hope that we will get more participation from various countries in the coming year and raise the bar for this prestigious event, and will keep positioning Malaysia, and Langkawi in particular, as a premier sailing destination.
CONCLUSION
My dear friends,
11. It is therefore hoped that all initiatives planned and carried out so far will be able to rebuild Langkawi’s formerly thriving tourism landscape. Our current main goal is to increase the number of tourists and thereby re-establish Langkawi as the world’s leading tourism destination.
12. Before I end my speech, I would like to express my gratitude to the Ministry of Tourism and Culture Malaysia, Kedah State Government, Malaysia Sailing Association, Malaysian Industrial Development Finance Berhad (MIDF), Etihad Airways, Etika Sdn. Bhd. (Revive & Tropicana), and Hypergear for their support and contribution towards the 19th Royal Langkawi International Regatta. Also, special thanks to our media partners, HOMME, Sea Yachting Magazine, and Digital Visions Advertising.
13. With that, it gives me great pleasure to announce the 19th Royal Langkawi International Regatta officially open. Best wishes to all sailors, and may the best team win. Also, I encourage all supporters to stay a little longer and explore our treasures, and I wish you a wonderful stay on this beautiful island. Thank You.