Plans to raise Komodo National Park fees may have been axed, but travel trade players say the damage has been done. Travellers are uncertain and reluctant to visit.
The government had previously planned to increase the entrance ticket for Komodo National Park from 250,000 rupiah (US$17) per visit to 3,750,000 rupiah for a year-long multiple entry as of August 2022. This was later postponed to January 1, 2023 following protests.
At end-December, Sandiaga Uno, minister of tourism and creative economy, said the increment would not happen.
Travel trade players told TTG Asia that the dent on Komodo National Park’s visitation would be most prominent in 2024, unless more efforts are spent now to convince the market that this cancellation is final.
Flores Exotic Tours’ director Leonardus Nyoman said many of the company’s partners are still hesitant to sell the destination, due to the government’s inconsistency.
Without certainty, Leonardus said partners and overseas clients will seek other destinations to sell.
Pacto Tours’ chief operating officer Umberto Cadamuri said the on and off entrance fee changes have cost his agency up to 30 per cent of sales for Komodo and Flores from the European market this year.
While Cadamuri believes that there is “still a possibility to get more bookings”, outcomes will be “limited”.
For now, he hopes that the domestic market will stand in to boost Komodo sales.
Abed Frans, chairman of the East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) chapter of the Association of the Indonesian Tours and Travel Agencies (ASITA), stressed the need for the government to confirm that the decision is final. He described the entrance fee issue as being as devastating and disruptive as the Covid-19 pandemic.
He said: “This is important because NTT’s tourism dependence on Komodo is so great.”
To recover Komodo’s image, ASITA plans to use ASEAN Tourism Forum and ITB Asia as platforms to inform the market that there is no increase in ticketing fees.
“We hope the government can collaborate or even do more than that,” Abed added.
The show is housed within various individualistic galleries, and invites visitors to step into more than 300 of Vincent Van Gogh’s sketches, drawings, and paintings conveyed through the use of floor-to-ceiling, wall-to-wall large scale digital projections.
More than 60% of Chinese travellers surveyed by Dragon Trail on the eve of China’s reopening expressed interest in traveling outside China in 2023.
While survey results indicate that recovery will pick up gradually throughout the first sixth months of the year, Dragon Trail expects a strong comeback to start from July, along with a bumper eight-day Golden Week holiday for Mid-Autumn Festival and China’s National Day (September 29 to October 6).
Sharing the results of the January 2023 Chinese Traveler Sentiment Report at a joint webinar with travel analysts ForwardKeys just before the start of the Chinese New Year holidays, researchers noted that findings are aligned with booking trends.
China’s decision to ditch its zero-Covid policy has triggered a surge in flight bookings, according to the latest data from ForwardKeys. Intra-regional neighbours in Asia will reap the benefits the most.
“Let’s go”, “waited for too long”, “feels happy”, and “enjoy the freedom” were just some of the overwhelmingly positive sentiments shared by the 60.4% of survey respondents who said they wanted to travel outside of China in 2023.
“This group expressed high expectations about the freedom of cross-border travel this year. Survey respondents said they were excited to relax, as well as to experience the scenery, food, culture, and shopping overseas,” shared Dragon Trail market research analyst Yelinuer Kadeerbieke.
Top China outbound destinations are in South-east Asia
“Forward bookings for Chinese New Year are currently 47% behind pre-pandemic levels but already 30% ahead last year,” said ForwardKeys’ analyst Nan Dai.
South-east Asian destinations are most likely to first benefit from the return of Chinese tourists. “All these destinations have relaxed rules for Chinese travellers. Arrivals from China will not be required to provide test results for Covid-19. Visa waiver to Indonesia, visa-on-arrival to Thailand, Cambodia and the UAE – all make it even easier to travel,” added Dai.
Dragon Trail’s data also points to strong recovery for Asian destinations. Hong Kong, Macau and Thailand topped the list of outbound destinations to which Chinese tourists plan to travel in 2023. Notably, Hong Kong was chosen by 20.7% of survey respondents, with 11.4% choosing Macau and 11.1% planning a trip to Thailand.
Recovery of the Chinese outbound market will pick up this summer
Despite high demand for cross-border trips, the lack of flight capacity and high fares could be the bottleneck for China’s outbound travel recovery in 1Q2023.
“Current scheduled international flight capacity in 1Q2023 is only at 21% of 2019’s level; and owing to approval requirements for traffic rights and airport slots, it will be difficult for airlines to gear back up very quickly. We can expect a more significant increase when airlines schedule for the next summer season starting from March 26,” opined Dai.
Kadeerbieke added: “Our survey results show that while recovery will start gradually in the first six months of 2023, it’s clear that outbound travel will start to pick up in the second half of the year. 42% said they would travel outbound in July and August, with 32% planning an autumn Golden Week getaway outside China.”
The outbound China market is vital in the travel food chain, so the return of the sleeping dragon in time for the Lunar New Year with promises for greater growth over the summer period will be a game changer for the travel sector in 2023.