New research from youth adventure tour operator Geckos Adventures Australia found a majority of American millennials are ready to bring forward plans for travel to escape this year’s election politics.

Four in 10 of 2,000 American millennials (18-30) surveyed in September said they would do a ‘Trump Jump’ if Donald Trump gets elected, while three in 10 plan a ‘Hillary Hop’ if Hillary Clinton becomes the next POTUS (president of the United States).

A ‘Trump Jump’ and ‘Hillary Hop’ were defined as “time abroad, travelling, taking a gap year or going overseas”.

Key findings of the survey include:

• Nearly 58% agreed that they need at least a holiday or vacation to forget about the politics going on at the current moment
• 63% of millennials surveyed believe Americans are more open to living abroad and travelling because of the current political situation
• More than eight in 10 are utterly dismayed or frustrated with their choices for this year’s presidential elections, while just one in 10 expressed excitement and optimism about the election
• 61% are worried about the election
• 70% are planning to vote (13% are not, 17% are unsure)

One in three have become so dismayed with the political options on either side they are looking into moving abroad permanently.

Top regions cited for their re-ignited travel plans include Canada (47%), Europe (37%), Australia (15%), Asia (12%) and Mexico (12%).

The company said it commissioned the survey not only to learn more about millennials and their travel habits, but their desires and motivations – why they travel and where they want to go. The findings confirmed its “suspicions about an increased desire of American millennials to travel as the US election continues to be in the global spotlight”, said a spokesperson.

It also wanted to get American millennials excited about the prospect of travel and show the doors that travel can open up for this age group especially, she added.

Geckos, part of Intrepid Group, last month had repositioned itself as a tour company focusing on the under 30 crowd. In 2017, all of its trips will open only to travellers aged 18 to 29, down from a previous age cap of 39.

Along with the change, it introduced 20 new trips in 2017 that will cater to youths who are seeking grassroots cultural experiences and adventure. These include treks to Everest Base Camp and tours throughout North America, the Middle East, Asia and Africa.

Intrepid Group’s managing director James Thornton, 35, said: “This move is not about big bus tours and party trips in Europe; it’s about transforming Geckos into a brand that provides the next generation of travellers with a responsible small group alternative.

“While there are other travel brands with age limits, there is nobody offering a dedicated youth product to travellers who want an authentic experience that gives back to the places they visit and people they meet.”

According to the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), youth travel is one of the fastest growing sectors in tourism, representing 23 per cent of more than one billion international tourists each year.

Millennials, along with Gen Z, who will soon age into the Geckos target market, are known for their socially-conscious, authentic and pragmatic approach to travel, giving experiences higher importance than material goods, said the company.

Tokyo Disneyland’s daytime parade

Japan’s two largest theme parks, Universal Studios Japan and Tokyo Disneyland, have reported sharply differing visitor figures over the summer months with one seeing a sharp rise in visitorship while the other has seen numbers dwindle.

Universal Studios Japan, in Osaka, saw more than seven million visitors in the April-September period, up 500,000 from the same period last year and setting a new record for the second consecutive year.

Visitor numbers were boosted by a number of events to mark the theme park’s 15th anniversary, as well as the opening in March of the Flying Dinosaur, a new rollercoaster.

In contrast, visitors to Disneyland and DisneySea in Tokyo fell a combined 43,000 over a six-month period, according to owners Oriental Land Co.

The figure was the fourth-highest in the park’s history, but it was also the third consecutive first-half decline. And even a number of special events, including DisneySea’s 15th anniversary celebrations, were not enough of a lure.

Data suggests that the decline have been among domestic travellers.

“While these special event and shows were well received, the high number of rainy days and extreme weather conditions during this period were factors that resulted in the total combined attendance,” Oriental Land said in a statement.

In April, the company raised the admission fees for the parks, with an adult’s one-day ticket hiked from Y6,900 (US$66.50) to Y7,400.

“We do not believe the rate revision of tickets has had any influence on attendance,” a company spokesman told TTG Asia.

Oriental Land says it plans to introduce new attractions in the coming months to win back customers, including the Woodchuck Greeting Trail in November and Frozen Forever starting January 13.

Phu Quoc, Vietnam

Tui UK & Ireland has announced it will launch packages to Vietnam as part of its winter 2017-18 programme as well as an online itinerary planner for its upcoming range of longhaul multi-centre holidays.

The operator’s Thomson and First Choice brands will both offer 14-night all-inclusive stays to the country’s largest island, Phu Quoc, using the first direct flights to the destination from Gatwick Airport on its 787 Dreamliner aircraft.

Tui said it would further grow its longhaul product by offering its summer Caribbean destinations of St Lucia and Cayo Santa Maria in Cuba to its winter programme.

A new range of longhaul city breaks are also due to be introduced to the 2017-18 winter programme with destinations such as Las Vegas, New York, Miami, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur bookable.

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By Tom Parry

PATA Travel Mart 2017 (PTM 2017) will be held in Macau from September 13-15, 2017.

Hosted by the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO), next year’s event will mark the annual travel trade show’s 40th edition and the second time it is to be held in Macau.

“It is an exciting prospect to be returning to Macau for the 40th anniversary of PATA Travel Mart, having previously held a successful Mart there in 2010,” said PATA CEO Mario Hardy.

“MGTO has been a valuable member of PATA since 1958 and has sponsored the PATA Gold Awards for the past 21 years. Next year’s PTM provides us with the perfect opportunity to showcase that amazing relationship and highlight one of the most unique destinations in the Asia-Pacific region.”

Macau has undergone a transformation in recent years with the opening of more family-friendly attractions and hotels there while emphasising less on gaming, as had been the focus in the past.

Earlier this year, the Wynn Palace and the Parisian Macao opened. While still offering casino gaming facilities, more activities are being provided that caters to a broader range of leisure travellers, such as the Parisian Macao’s replica Eiffel Tower offering panoramic observation decks and Studio City Macau’s Batman Dark Flight 4D flight simulation ride.

“PATA Travel Mart mobilises a relevant contingent of travel trade stakeholders from the Asia-Pacific region and around the world and we are enthusiastic with the perspective of providing a first-hand update about the significant developments in our city since we last met in Macao for the PATA Travel Mart 2010 and in 2005 for the PATA Annual Conference,” said MGTO director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes.

PTM 2016, held in BSD-Serpong, Indonesia attracted 1,358 delegates from 63 destinations, facilitating over 10,000 pre-matched appointments, face-to-face meetings, educational forums and networking functions.

Sri Lanka is deferring a proposal to terminate the controversial minimum hotel room rates policy in Colombo, which was enforced some years ago to deter undercutting.

Earlier in July, Tourism minister John Amaratunga announced that the policy will be abolished by March 31, 2017. But earlier this week, he said that there has been a rethinking and that it may now only happen in two years’ time.

Hotels in Colombo have expressed mixed feelings over the development.

On Wednesday, president of Colombo City Hotels Association M. Shanthikumar told TTG Asia that most hotels in the capital were opposed to the removal. “We wrote to the minister urging him to keep the rates at least for another two years before making a call.”

Other hoteliers said any change in the minimum rate structure would severely impact the service charges for staff.

According to current rules, five-star hotels have to charge at minimum US$125 per night plus taxes, which works out to be US$185, while three-star rates have to be at minimum US$80 per night inclusive of taxes.

“If there is free pricing, small and medium scale hotels will suffer badly as five-star properties will start charging the same rates,” said a senior manager at a smaller hotel in Colombo, who declined to be named.

The scheme was first brought into force after the May 2009 end of the civil war, after smaller hotels complained of excessive price cuts by larger properties.

The Tokyo Skytree is stepping up efforts to attract foreign visitors ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.

According to owner Tobu Tower Skytree, only 15 per cent of visitors came from abroad in fiscal 2015.

“We want more international tourists in the lead up to the games,” said Tobu’s spokesperson Sho Toyoshima. The plan is to make it more accessible for foreigners and at the same time hold more Japanese cultural events onsite.

Earlier this month, Skytree launched Tembo Kabuki, a video collage of Kabuki performances by renowned troupe Heisei Nakamura-Za, displayed daily against the night sky on the tower’s 350m-high round theatre.

October also saw the start of a limited-period behind-the-scenes tour. The idea is to allow visitors to explore areas that are normally inaccessible and gain insights into the world’s tallest tower.

These offerings build on the tower’s Fast Skytree Ticket product, sold only to foreign visitors since February, and which allows immediate admission to the viewing deck.

“We found that many international visitors had missed out on other plans they had made due to their wait for admission or simply gave up and went away. With this ticket, they can now get up the tower smoothly and easily,” explained Toyoshima, adding that more initiatives are to come.

TMC The Appointment Group has entered into a partnership with Singapore-based Giglifeasia.com to launch a new travel package product targeted at music festival goers in Asia.

The packages – which include event tickets, F&B credit, return airfares, transfers and accommodation – is being launched first in conjunction with Wonderfruit Festival 2016, held in Pattaya this December, with package prices starting from S$900 (US$652).

“Many of my friends attended Wonderfruit in previous years, but many who wanted to were not able to due to the effort required for them to get there,” said Priya Dewan, founder of Giglifeasia.com, on the motivation behind the partnership.

“We wanted to eliminate this obstacle, for this and future events, by providing people a one-stop logistical solution at one fixed price that fits their budget.”

She intends to continue partnering with festivals in the future to launch more packages.