Its chairman, Zainudin Kadir, said the third party acted like a broker and they had money which enabled them to book a large number of rooms.

“These brokers pay cash to get many rooms which will then be offered at a higher price,” he told Bernama.

He said their actions had made it difficult for registered tour agents which are registered with LTA to get hotel rooms and resulted in visitors having to pay higher rates for the rooms.

“They are the ones who manipulate the situation, so much so that it has affected our business and also generated complaints of hotel room rates increasing three to four fold,’ he added.

He said their actions, if not addressed, could affect Langkawi’s image as an international tourist destination.

Zainudin said LTA planned to set up an information counter at Pantai Cenang for tourists and visitors to lodge complaints on any tourism services that they were not happy with.

“If tourists feel they have been cheated over the price of services, they can lodge their complaints at the counter,” he added.

He said they could also do so at the LTA website, which would be launched by Kedah Menteri Besar Ahmad Bashah Md Hanipah on March 16.

Meanwhile, the Langkawi branch head of the domestic trade, cooperatives and consumerism ministry, Shamnaziman Mohd Taulan, said the office would step up monitoring against profiteering to avoid quarters from taking advantage of Lima, to be held from March 21 to 25.