The past year has been one of many firsts – including usually bustling, world-renowned tourist attractions falling silent for the first time in a long time. Beaches, restaurants and marketplaces stood empty, along with museums and art galleries and other typically crowded cultural centres.
As the excited chatter of human voices returns to these places, we’re reminded of both the powerful connecting force of travel and its ability to breathe economic life into communities near and far. The tourism industry plays a critical role in bringing people together to foster growth that benefits everyone.
Airbnb-commissioned research by Oxford Economics, for example, recently showed that Airbnb contributed up to US$22.7 billion and more than 925,000 jobs in the Asia-Pacific region in 2019 alone, supporting US$6.8 billion in wages. It’s just one small snapshot of how tourism creates employment and opportunity in ways that ripple across a range of other sectors.
The recent temporary halting of travel has been, for many businesses and communities, a stark reminder of how tourism can serve as a powerful economic empowerment engine.
But it’s also important those moments of silence and emptiness are not forgotten too quickly and discarded in vain. As travel prepares to rebound and passports around the world are dusted off, there’s never been a better time for our industry to pause and take stock of whether there is a better way to do things. This is an opportune time to ask how we, in the private sector, can more thoughtfully harness the power of travel to not only continue driving long-term economic growth, but also help deliver more sustainable outcomes for communities.
As a 21st-century company dedicated to serving all stakeholders – including the communities in which we operate – this is one of Airbnb’s top priorities. For us, growing sustainable travel is not only about minimising environmental impact, but showcasing local cultures, working with communities to ensure tourism is a positive experience for locals, and being a vehicle for meaningful connection.
There is a genuine desire amongst travellers to ensure their visit is also a positive experience for locals – and it’s critical that the industry not only actively facilitates this, but encourages it. Part of this is helping visitors spend their valuable tourism dollars where it matters most.
This is something that has been a big focus for us for many years – dispersing tourism and spreading the positive benefits to areas that have traditionally missed out. Recently, one focus area for us has been encouraging rural visitation throughout the region to help build more resilient, diverse local economies.
An example of our work in this space is our ongoing partnerships with peak farmer organisations in Australia, which are aimed at helping to grow rural tourism infrastructure. Another example is our partnership with India’s Self Employed Women’s Association, which helps economically empower disadvantaged women in rural India.
Another focus area for Airbnb is how we can harness our platform and our community to help foster a genuine, meaningful sense of connection that brings people together. Part of this is how we – along with the broader sector – can find ways to help communities showcase local food, culture and traditions to travellers in a way that’s authentic and over which they have true ownership.
For instance, we were proud to partner with the Community Development Department of Thailand in 2019 to spotlight Thailand’s hidden villages and local stewards of these lesser-known communities to guests around the world through Online Experiences.
In 2020, we also signed a two-year Memorandum of Understanding with the Singapore Tourism Board to co-promote unique, authentic Airbnb Experiences hosted by passionate locals on our Experiences platform.
As travel returns and the empty markets and quiet tourist attractions begin to once again fill with people and life, it’s important that we as a tourism sector pause and consider how we can play an even more active role in making the future of travel brighter and more sustainable in the long-term.
The IATA has called on governments to ensure that Covid-19 testing be kept affordable as well as timely, widely available and effective, in order to facilitate an efficient restart of international travel.
With many states imposing inbound requirements for PCR testing, the availability of affordable options everywhere is critical for a travel recovery, said the airline body.
An IATA sampling of costs for PCR tests (the test most frequently required by governments) in 16 countries showed wide variations by markets and within markets.
The 16 markets were Australia, Brazil, France, Germany, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland, Thailand, the UK, the US, and Vietnam. Not all these markets require PCR testing.
Of the markets surveyed, only France complied with the WHO recommendation for the state to bear the cost of testing for travellers.
Of the 15 markets where there is a cost for PCR testing to the individual, the average minimum cost for testing was US$90, while the average maximum cost for testing was US$208.
Even taking the average of the low-end costs, adding PCR testing to average airfares would dramatically increase the cost of flying for individuals, noted IATA.
Pre-crisis, the average one-way airline ticket, including taxes and charges, cost US$200 (2019 data). A US$90 PCR test raises the cost by 45 per cent to US$290. Add another test on arrival and the one-way cost would leap by 90 per cent to US$380. Assuming that two tests are needed in each direction, the average cost for an individual return-trip could balloon from US$400 to US$760.
The impact of the costs of Covid-19 testing on family travel would be even more severe. Based on average ticket prices (US$200) and average low-end PCR testing (US$90) twice each way, a journey for four that would have cost US$1,600 pre-Covid, could nearly double to US$3,040 – with US$1440 being testing costs.
“As travel restrictions are lifted in domestic markets, we are seeing strong demand. The same can be expected in international markets. But that could be perilously compromised by testing costs – particularly PCR testing,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s director general.
“Raising the cost of any product this significantly will stifle demand. The impact will be greatest for short-haul trips (up to 1,100 km); with average fares of US$105, the tests will cost more than the flight. That’s not what you want to propose to travellers as we emerge from this crisis. Testing costs must be better managed. That’s critical if governments want to save tourism and transport jobs; and avoid limiting travel freedoms to the wealthy.”
IATA further highlighted that the WHO’s International Health Regulations stipulate that states should not charge for testing or vaccination required for travel, or for the issuance of certificates.
The WHO COVID Emergency Committee recently reiterated this position, calling on governments to reduce the financial burden on international travellers of complying with testing requirements and any other public health measures implemented by countries.
Many states are ignoring their international treaty obligations, putting a travel recovery in jeopardy and risking millions of livelihoods. High testing costs also incentivise the market for fake certificates.
“Testing costs should not stand between people and their freedom to travel. The best solution is for the costs to be borne by governments. It’s their responsibility under WHO guidelines. We must not let the cost of testing – particularly PCR testing – limit the freedom to travel to the rich or those able to be vaccinated,” said Walsh.
“A successful restart of travel means so much to people – from personal job security to business opportunities and the need to see family and friends. Governments must act quickly to ensure that testing costs don’t stall a travel recovery.”