China’s pivot to domestic travel in the last two years provided a lifeline as her borders closed and outbound tourism dried up, but the country’s zero-Covid strategy is crushing the industry grappling with the sudden lockdown of cities and scant government support.
Still, all is not lost as industry players see opportunities even if 2022 is likely to be a write-off.
Domestic tourism’s poster child status, however, has not been without obstacles; there have been restrictions on advertising tours, airlines having to adhere to Covid-19 rules and cancel flights, and tours being stopped on short notice as was the case for the May Day holiday and the outbreak in the capital.
At press time, Shanghai was still in lockdown, Beijing was undergoing mass testing and infections were detected in Guangzhou.
Kin Qin, deputy general manager of 25-year-old Century Holiday International Travel Group, remains positive even though 2022 is turning out to the most challenging since the start of the pandemic.
Qin, who joined the company after graduating from hospitality industry studies some 16 years ago, is determined to stay despite the setbacks; most travel businesses have had to cut headcount, fend for themselves, and scour for opportunities to stay afloat.
For Century Holiday, the opening up of countries in South-east Asia, where it has offices in Singapore, Malaysia and Bali, is a welcome development as it can start bringing European and North American tourists back to the region.
According to the director of a boutique travel agency that specialises in tailor-made China programmes for the Western market, in particular North America, the short- and medium-term is “not promising”.
The Shanghai-based director told TTG Asia: “People in China support the zero-Covid policy. SMEs will have to wait it out, be creative and innovative.”
The agency, which has offices in Shanghai and Beijing, was tapping the expatriate market and Western-educated returnee Chinese in the last two years.
The director continued: “Domestic travel is now totally impossible. April-May is peak period and business is down 90 per cent compared to last year. Even if people can travel, they are not willing.”
Although the last few years have been “unpredictable and stressful”, he is hopeful the industry will improve by the end of 2022, but remains concerned that when business is back to normal, China could be facing a lack of “skilled tourism people” who left to join other industries or moved back to their hometowns for cheaper cost of living, and may not return.
When asked about the impact of China’s zero-Covid policy on outbound travel, a veteran overseas industry observer, commented: “With the change to vaccinate older folks and using mRNA boosters for everybody from January 2022 to fight the new Omicron variant, outbound travel could start again from now.
“But as long as China keeps to a zero-Covid strategy, no outbound tourism is possible. Most host destinations will not open their borders even if China would allow Chinese to travel abroad.”
He said neighbouring destinations like South-east Asia and Nepal have been impacted, but Hong Kong suffered the most, while Macau enjoyed a windfall being the only destination which could be visited with no quarantine upon returning to China.
The industry observer continued: “As I see it, the pandemic has to be brought under control and economic growth restarted before China’s borders will open.
“With the rest of the world having brought Covid-19 infections down – to AIDS virus infection levels – there will be no fear to travel abroad and the industry could see a big China outbound wave either from October 2022, optimistically, or from Chinese New Year 2023, which is more likely.”
The industry observer advised: “Prepare now for the new demand and expectations of Chinese visitors in post-pandemic times. Embark on internal marketing in targeted destinations so that host communities are not afraid of Chinese visitors.
“To me, the Chinese government is missing a golden opportunity to help end the Russia-Ukraine conflict and develop a much improved image as peacemaker. Continuing to sit on the fence and appearing to be neutral is not helping to warm people’s heart.”
He said such an approach would make Chinese visitors less welcome overseas, while discourage foreigners from visiting China.
Shanghai-based Alexander Glos, CEO, China i2i Group, who has worked and lived in the financial centre for 12 years – and another five in Beijing – said his city’s political leaders have acknowledged it needs to fix the missteps, not usual in China.
Glos, too, fears China could lose a lot of talented people, as “everyone is figuring out what to do and where to go next”.
For Glos and i2i Group, which provides B2B and B2C tourism-related services to international and domestic clients, “China is not going away as household consumer spending is the fastest growing and it will be larger than the US by 2030″.
“China is a tremendous wealth generator not just for billionaire entreprenuers, but also for small businesses,” he pointed out.
“If you are a consumer company, the only place to be is China. That is not going to change. What has changed is demand for high-end international premium and luxury travel and shopping patterns have shifted domestically,” he said.
China has used travel as a “trading tool” and Glos sees the possibility of outbound travel, with a cap on numbers, to “safe” destinations suddenly opening up.
“It will happen by the end of this year – travel bubbles and corridors to countries that will benefit China politically and economically, and the flights will be sold out,” Glos projected.
According to him, demand in the first phase will be for high-end FIT trips to places like Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Bali in Indonesia and Cambodia.
So when China does open up and it will, industry players and stakeholders will have to move fast.
During this time, Weinstein also oversaw Carnival UK, the operating company for P&O Cruises (UK) and Cunard, which he previously managed directly for three years as president.
Thng has also served as chief commercial officer of Scoot from May 2016 to October 2017, and chief executive of SIA’s regional carrier SilkAir between August 2012 and May 2016.
The events calendar that we aspire for the participation or enjoyment of local sports fans are a natural draw for tourism as well. We thus work closely with the Singapore Tourism Board to not only curate the events portfolio, but also the fringe activities that provide a total experience in and around the venue. Singapore’s vibrancy and energy promises that there will never be a dull moment!
Singaporeans, like tourists, attend sport events that they believe will provide them a not-to-be-missed opportunity to see the stars and enjoy good quality sporting action. At SportSG, we seek to create such opportunities through a range of mass participation to world-class spectator events.
For example, we work with our partner Ironman Asia to enhance the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon (SCSM) race experience from year to year. That includes a great race expo, improved routes and atmosphere, inspiring elite participation, and engaging workshops. This has not only made it a must-attend event for runners in Singapore, but has also attracted growing international participation with each edition.
The pandemic did not see the SCSM come to a standstill. The races incorporated virtual and augmented reality components for the first time in 2020, and again in 2021, even when physical participation was reintroduced.
Through the SCSM’s Virtual Running Club, overseas runners could choose from a selection of virtual routes that took them through iconic sights of Singapore, such as Little India and Orchard Road, as they ran the race. Local runners were also able to participate at several SportSG sport centres that set up a network of official race treadmills.
In the same spirit, SportSG continued to work with event promoters and rights holders through the last two years to stage events in Singapore, notwithstanding the tough Covid restrictions on movement and travel. It has given our partners the confidence and assurance that we are committed to supporting the industry, that we have the capabilities and ability to adapt to and be agile under prevailing circumstances, and that we are emerging with a strong innovation mindset.
SportSG also capitalised on the downturn caused by the pandemic by offering a generous Innovation Grant to support the deployment of technology solutions for hybrid events, fan engagements, and more. The focus on engaging event experiences continues unabated as we emerge from the pandemic.
Finally, it is important to highlight that SportSG continues to be on the lookout for marquee events that have the potential to engage new fans, new athletes, and new commercial opportunities. One recent example is our bid for the World Athletics Championships 2025. Singapore25 represents a unique opportunity to host one of the world’s most prestigious sporting events and advance the sport of athletics into an untapped region. The legacy for participation here and the sport industry is expected to be very significant.
These are all major sporting events. Is SportSG also positioning Singapore as a desirable hub for smaller, local and regional events?
Local and regional events are important to Singapore’s sport development, giving our athletes opportunities to build competitive experience. They also give spectators a variety of platforms to support and cheer on Team Singapore on home ground. This is complemented by a comprehensive calendar of local leagues and competitions that focus on pathway development and recreational sport. They are an integral part of the formula in keeping Singaporeans participating, competing, and cheering.
The pandemic had set back many of these events. So, at the earliest opportunity in December 2020, we worked on a pilot to bring spectators back to the Singapore Premier League matches, learning and calibrating from the experience.
Since taking that first step, regional events have made a strong comeback. Between December 2021 and March 2022, Singapore hosted the AFF Suzuki Cup in December 2021, SEA Pencak Silat Championships in February 2022, and FAS Tri-Nations Series in March 2022. While Covid restrictions were still in place, we also encouraged modified leagues and competitions for our youth to fuel their interests.
Is SportSG also looking at attracting global sporting associations to be located or headquartered in Singapore, to encourage even more sports-related events and meetings to be hosted here? What progress is SportSG making in this effort?
The presence of global sporting associations in Singapore is a welcomed addition to the sporting ecosystem. Their activities would include international meetings and conferences, sport events, and sport development programmes. These benefit local administrators, officials, coaches and athletes; and in many instances open up employment opportunities that would upskill the local workforce, and position Singapore well as a regional hub.
Singaporeans who aspire to work abroad in the global sport ecosystem would then also find that the referrals and experience gained here would give them a leg up.
Given our stage of development as a regional sport hub, SportSG is in discussions with several parties on the prospects and opportunities to partner and collaborate on these fronts.
Is SportSG encouraging or facilitating the development of more sports facilities across Singapore that will cater to future sports events demand and possibilities? Or is the massive Singapore Sports Hub enough at this point?
The objectives behind sport facilities development in Singapore go beyond the facilitation of events. Like a balanced portfolio of sporting events, well-designed facilities are essential to cater to the wide range of sporting interests and to provide access and opportunity to a lifetime participation in sport.
The Sports Facilities Master Plan (SFMP) is a key foundation of our Vision 2030 sport master plan. The four tiers in the portfolio of facilities range from international competition-grade venues to free-to-play neighbourhood sport parks. In particular, the five regional sport hubs will complement the Singapore Sports Hub when hosting major games. These regional hubs and various other specialised facilities will also cater to the needs of national training centres for Team Singapore.
A key tenet of the SFMP is to match urban planning parameters for housing development and land-use optimisation. The latter includes opening all school sport facilities for community use on the weekends.