The Frangipani Langkawi Resort & Spa recently received a highly commended award in the Large Hotel Category at this year’s Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Awards organised by responsibletravel.com.

Launched in 2004, the awards are run in association with partners World Travel Market, The Daily Telegraph, Geographical Magazine and BBC World News Service.  They are the most prestigious and competitive of their kind in the world.  This year a record 1,976 nominations were received from travellers around the world voting for tourism ventures that provide outstanding holidays that also benefit local people and destinations.

At a ceremony hosted at World Travel Mart (WTM) held at Docklands, London, on Wednesday 12th November, the Awards were handed out to the recipients.  The judges commented on Frangipani Langkawi that: “More than 80% of Frangipani’s workforce is from the local community and 40% of its food is produced on the island.  The resort also has a large environmental management programme designed for improvement, extensively planting native trees and maintaining a wetland in the resort.”

Justin Francis, founder of The Responsible Tourism Awards and Managing Director, responsibletravel.com, said: “In this, the fifth year of the awards, the bar has been raised for responsible tourism yet again.  What inspires me is the efforts that businesses and destinations are making in order to ensure that responsible tourism lies at the heart of their strategies and plans.  Without a doubt, this is the only way for the future – responsible travel is not a passing fad or a niche travel trend for marketing purposes.  It is an entire, holistic approach to tourism operations.”

The award also creates awareness amongst hotels, resorts and tourism operators that there are greener operational policies that ultimately reduce environmental impacts.  Resort owner, Mr Anthony Wong, said after acknowledging the award: “The Frangipani Langkawi Resort & Spa has implemented various greening programmes to streamline its daily operations and to minimise environmental impacts.  Since the resort’s inception in 2006, we have set out to implement various policies to reduce our impacts upon the environment.  Some 100 initiatives are in place and listed on our website and we hope these will become a model for other resorts to follow.”

Mr Wong remarked that various measures have been introduced at the resort including reducing consumption especially wastage, effectively managing energy usage to reduce wastage, using environmentally-friendly detergents, filtering the resort’s ‘grey water’ through a wetland and working with the local authorities to reduce the amount of rubbish that goes to the island’s limited landfill. 

“Everyone in the Frangipani community from the owners to management, staff and guests is encouraged to participate in our programmes and we find that we have the full support of all.  Being an island, Langkawi has many sensitive environmental variables that need to be carefully managed if tourism on the island is to be sustainable,” said Mr Wong.

The Frangipani Langkawi Resort & Spa is a secluded and eco-friendly resort situated along 400-metres of beautiful golden sands at Pantai Tengah, in Langkawi, a popular island resort in Malaysia.  The resort is a 15-minute drive from the Langkawi International Airport and just a short walk to the island’s top restaurants, cafés, bars and shops at Pantai Tengah.

The 118-room resort offers spacious rooms, villas and suites with modern amenities. The Mentari Grill restaurant serves Asian and international cuisine, while the Coco Beach Jam bar offers stunning views of the Langkawi sunset.

Popular among families with young children, the resort’s other facilities include two swimming pools, outdoor jacuzzi, reflexology path, meeting room, recreational activities, room service, babysitting laundry, tour desk, transport services, souvenir shop and internet facilities.

Contact:  
Frangipani Langkawi Resort & Spa
P.O. Box 138
Jalan Teluk Baru
Pantai Tengah
Mukim Kedawang
07100 Langkawi, Kedah.
T: +604 952 0000
F: +604 952 0001
E: rsvn@frangipanilangkawi.com
W: www.frangipanilangkawi.com

For other media releases by Tourism Malaysia, please log on to www.tourism.gov.my.

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Issued by: Communications & Publicity Division, Tourism Malaysia
Date: 24 December 2008
Tel: +603 2615 8188; Fax: +603 2615 8299
For more information, e-mail: anisramli@tourism.gov.my or
log on to: www.tourismmalaysia.gov.my