Hong Kong’s Airport Authority (AA) has employed enhanced cleaning technology, including full-body disinfection booths, antimicrobial coating for high-touch surfaces, and cleaning robots, at the Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) to protect staff and passengers from Covid-19.
HKIA is the world’s first airport to trial CLeanTech, where passengers and staff, following a temperature check, will enter the enclosed booths for a 40-second disinfection procedure.
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CLeanTech
Intelligent Sterilization Robot
Each booth’s interior is equipped with antimicrobial coating, which can remotely kill viruses and bacteria on human bodies and clothing through photocatalyst and nano needle technology. Sanitising spray will also be applied for quick disinfection.
Pilot tests are also being held for the application of antimicrobial coating on high-touch surfaces in passenger facilities, including smart check-in kiosks, baggage trolleys and bathrooms. Trials are set to be completed this month, after which AA will consider establishing it as a long-term disinfection procedure.
As well, cleaning robots are being deployed for disinfection of public areas and passenger facilities in the airport.
The Intelligent Sterilization Robots are programmed to move without constant human direction, and can use UV light and air sterilisers to sterilise up to 99.99 per cent of bacteria in its proximity, including surfaces and surrounding air, in approximately 10 minutes.
In fact, public toilets and key operating areas in the terminal building are already being serviced by the robots round-the-clock.
Steven Yiu, deputy director-service delivery, AA, said that the aviation statutory body will continue to seek and test out new measures to enhance cleaning and disinfection standards at HKIA, and ensure a safe environment for stakeholders.
In a world of full uncertainty, there is at least one thing we do know for certain – it won’t be business-as-usual after this crisis.
The unprecedented Covid-19 crisis has upended the status quo and left no part of life in Asia-Pacific or the world untouched. Business paused. Borders closed. Travel halted. Life won’t return to how it was before the pandemic; life will adjust to a new normal.
Like other sectors of the economy, the pandemic has significantly disrupted the travel and tourism sector. The UN World Tourism Organisation estimates that international tourist arrivals could plunge by up to a third in 2020, and the World Tourism & Travel Council (WTTC) has found that one million jobs are being lost every day due to the virus.
Sadly, the Asia-Pacific region is not immune. The WTTC estimates 63 million tourism jobs in Asia are at risk – close to five times the number in Europe and close to eight times the number in North America.
But this crisis has also reinforced what matters most in life to people. Connection. Kinship. Belonging. Being apart has reminded people of how much they want to be together.
It is for these reasons and more, we know travel will recover. We know that even though there has been a once-in-a-century disruption that travel is resilient and will return.
Despite countless conflicts and calamities, tourism has continued to go from strength to strength. The number of tourist arrivals globally grew from just 25 million in 1950 to over 1.5 billion in 2019. Before the coronavirus emerged, the growth of the travel and tourism industry in the Asia-Pacific region had outpaced the regional economy for five straight years.
While the desire to travel remains undiminished, how people travel will be different. We expect the immediate future of travel will see demand for more local, longer, unique and value-for-money experiences. With long-haul international travel likely to be limited in the short-term, people will look much closer to home for their holidays such as exploring off-the-beaten path destinations they haven’t visited domestically or even travelling between specific international corridors, such as the mooted ‘Trans-Trasman bubble’ between Australia and New Zealand.
Given the significant impact to the regional economy, we also expect travellers will be more cost-conscious. Travellers will prioritise more affordable places to stay and experiences. For families, this may mean choosing accommodation types which gives them room for the whole family to stay together and offers convenient amenities such as kitchen and laundry facilities.
In this new tourism environment, short-term rentals will play an important role. It can help governments achieve the twin objectives of recovery and resilience. Short-term rentals such as Airbnb listings can help accelerate tourism’s recovery by giving travellers greater and more affordable choices, and by making it easier and cheaper to travel. Short-term rentals can also help diversify tourism, making it more resilient and less vulnerable to future shocks.
As such, it may be appropriate for some governments to consider whether their existing regulatory settings remain fit-for-purpose. Rules that might have worked pre-crisis might not work post-crisis. A business-as-usual approach to regulation risks undermining tourism’s much-needed recovery. In some cases, reforming short-term rental rules may act as a form of regulatory stimulus and help create jobs.
At Airbnb, our immediate focus has been on safety and supporting the community through these testing times. We launched a program to help Covid-19 frontline workers, like doctors and nurses, find safe and convenient places to stay so they can continue to carry out their critical, lifesaving work. We have been regularly updating hosts-and-guests with the latest advice and guidance from government and health experts.
We’ve also been listening closely to Airbnb’s local hosts. To date, we have held dedicated listening sessions with local host communities in places right across the region including South Korea, Japan, Australia and India. For hosts who depend on the income they make through the Airbnb platform, the pandemic has been a hammer blow. Many hosts are struggling to make ends meet. Many hosts are experiencing significant personal and financial hardship. To help them weather the storm, we are providing more than US$270 million in funding to hosts impacted by Covid-19.
Importantly, we have been working hard to help our hosts prepare for the future of travel. In partnership with leading experts in hospitality and medical hygiene, we are developing a new cleaning protocol for hosts with enhanced procedures and guidance on how to clean every room in a home. This is the first overarching standardised protocol for cleaning and sanitisation in the short-term rental industry and builds on the Airbnb community’s already strong track record in this space.
Regardless of how long the storm lasts, Airbnb wants to be a good partner to governments and local communities. We want to work hand in hand with them to rebuild the much-needed and critically important tourism industry. In the post-Covid world, we believe the local, authentic travel provided by the Airbnb community will be an invaluable tool for helping grow and future-proof tourism throughout the region.
Vietnam’s tourism industry has gotten an early start to recovery, with domestic demand set to spearhead growth, as the country becomes the first in South-east Asia to lift social distancing restrictions.
The lifting of social distancing restrictions was announced by the Vietnamese government on April 24, setting the stage for the return of domestic tourism. Restaurants in the country have started filling up again and some airlines are operating domestically. From April 23, VietJet started six daily flights connecting Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.
Domestic travel poised to drive Vietnam’s tourism recovery as it comes out of lockdown; tourists at My Khe Beach in Danang, Vietnam pictured
Jeff Redl, managing director of Diethelm Travel Vietnam, said: “It’s a very positive signal. The demand seems to be quite strong as per information received from several hotels.”
Linh Le, principal and co-founder of Luxperia, said with restrictions lifted, many city dwellers had planned trips to the coast for the four-day holiday from April 30 to May 4. However, he noted that the cost of flights is significantly higher, making flying more of a luxury than previously.
Added Le: “Hotels are offering some good deals with added value, however, while domestic tourism will increase, its pre-pandemic high-performance shall be shortened this year. Savvy operators are to tap into local micro and niche markets to attain some recovery of business within domestic tourism.”
Michael Piro, CEO of Wink Hotels, said he is slowly starting to see a “modest” pickup in bookings. He added: “We believe the market will continue to show signs of improvement towards the end of the year.”
Piro predicts the recovery will initially be led by business travel, transitioning to leisure-driven travel through the summer months. To further stimulate domestic demand, he said discounts and promotions will be used to encourage locals to travel.
Tourism ministers of the 10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) agreed on Wednesday to deepen tourism cooperation so as to mitigate the effects of Covid-19 on the sector.
The announcement was made via a joint statement following a special meeting of the ASEAN tourism ministers on the Covid-19 via video conferencing, which was chaired by Cambodian Tourism Minister Thong Khon.
South-east Asian tourism leaders vow to deepen cooperation on tourism recovery; tourist wearing protective mask in Da Lat city centre, Vietnam pictured
The ministers agreed to foster coordination among the member countries in speeding up information exchange about travel, especially pertaining to health standards and other measures implemented by the member countries in controlling the spread of Covid-19, so as to provide timely and accurate information for travellers and tourism marketers.
They also struck a deal to deepen the collaboration of South-east Asian NTOs with other relevant sectors in the region, especially in the sectors of health, information, transportation, immigration; as well as regional external partners to collectively implement the comprehensive measures in a transparent and timely manner to mitigate the impact of Covid-19 and other crisis in the future.
The tourism ministers also agreed to enhance cooperation in the sharing of information and best practices among member countries as well as with South-east Asian dialogue partners in supporting the tourism sector.
The cooperation also covers the implementation of policies and measures to bolster the confidence of domestic and international visitors to South-east Asia, including the development of standards and guidelines to create a safer and healthier environment so as to protect staff and communities in the hospitality and tourism-related industries.
In addition, the ministers also concurred to support the development and implementation of a post Covid-19 crisis recovery plan, as well as efforts on the promotion and marketing of joint tourism with the aim of advancing South-east Asia as a single tourism destination.
They also agreed to quicken the implementation of micro- and macro-economic policies; provide technical support and financial stimulus; tax relief; capacity and skill improvement, especially digital skills, for industry stakeholders.
Furthermore, they will also work to accelerate the cooperation with South-east Asian dialogue partners, international organisations and relevant industries to “build a strong and prepared South-east Asia to effectively implement and manage tourism that is sustainable and inclusive after the crisis”.
Indonesia’s vice minister of tourism and creative economy Angela Tanoesoedibjo, who took part in the ministerial meeting, said: “Several studies state that it needs at least five years for the tourism sector to return to the normal condition after Covid-19. But I believe that ASEAN is better than that, the tourism in our region will recover faster under one condition – we have to strengthen (our) cooperation and collaboration.”
Malaysia has entered a conditional movement control order (CMCO) starting Monday (May 4), about a week ahead of the scheduled end of the fourth phase of the MCO on May 12, in a move to restart its economy.
The announcement was made by prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin on May 1. Under the CMCO, almost all economic sectors and business activities will be allowed to operate, except for those businesses and social activities that expose people to the risk of being infected by Covid-19.
Malaysia eases lockdown, with a set of guidelines, to kickstart economic recovery
“At the same time, the government will enforce the enhanced MCO in areas where the number of Covid-19 positive cases are high,” the prime minister said. He added that restarting the economy is vital for individuals and businesses, as the country loses RM2.4 billion (US$553.2 million) in revenue every day the MCO has been in effect since March 18.
Activities allowed under the CMCO are subject to strict conditions and enforcement of stringent health standard operating procedures as the battle against the spread of Covid-19 in the country continues.
Workers in the retail sector including restaurants must wear face masks and the entry of customers at any one time will be limited. For dine-ins, all premises must adhere to social distancing rules, limit the number of customers, as well as record details of all customers.
The rules of social distancing and restrictions on the number of patrons applies to all retail outlets operating during this CMCO as well, which also must be disinfected three times daily.
Based on guidelines for the reopening of the economy provided by the National Security Council, hotels are allowed to operate 24 hours and to take in guests comprising frontliners in the fight against Covid-19, professionals from essential services such as oil and gas, and sectors that have contractual period agreements with hotels. Staying in hotels for leisure purposes is still not allowed. Also, hotel facilities such as prayer rooms, gym, swimming pools, spas, lounges and meeting facilities cannot be used. Restaurants and cafes also cannot serve buffets.
Businesses that are not allowed to operate during the CMCO include theme parks, nightclubs, movie theatres, museums and all indoor sports operators. Activities prohibited during this period includes swimming and contact sports, ecotourism activities in the jungle, meetings, conferences, seminars, workshops, exhibitions, as well as social and public gatherings and all form of assemblies.
While interstate travel for tourism purposes is still not allowed, Nigel Wong, honorary secretary of the Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA) said: “We hope as the Covid-19 situation improves, internal borders will gradually reopen and domestic travel can resume. Industry expectations are that inbound and outbound travel will see early signs of recovery by early next year.”
Sharmini Violet, director of sales & marketing at Mega Water Sports Jetski Tours in Langkawi, said the company will not operate its jetski tours until the government says that it is safe to travel for domestic tourism.
She added: “We believe domestic tourism will rebound ahead of inbound travel. However, we are selling ‘buy now, travel later’ open tickets, and offering discounts of up to 40 per cent for advance bookings for travel up to December 31, 2021. We started selling these open tickets from last month on our social media platforms. There is engagement, but no sales.”
Senior minister (security cluster) Ismail Sabri Yaakob has advised Malaysians to continue staying at home throughout the CMCO period, unless to attend to urgent matters, as the battle against Covid-19 is not yet over.
At press time, nine of 13 states in Malaysia are not following or fully adhering with the federal government’s move to ease conditions and allowing businesses to resume.
The Star Online reported on May 4 that Kedah, Sabah, Sarawak, Pahang, Penang and Kelantan have decided not to follow the move while Selangor, Perak and Negri Sembilan said it would limit the number of businesses allowed to resume operations and restrict dine-ins at restaurants and sports and recreational activities.
Douglas Uggah, deputy chief minister of Sarawak, said the state will remain status quo until it has studied the implications of reopening economic activities, after which it will announce in stages which activities and sectors would be allowed to reopen.
Meanwhile, the chief minister of Kedah, Mukhriz Mahathir, said the state would not implement the CMCO until it has been discussed at the state security working committee meeting on Covid-19 on Tuesday.
Penang will only allow selected sectors to reopen from May 8 under the CMCO. Until then, the MCO remains intact.
During a media briefing on Saturday, the Health Ministry reported 105 new Covid-19 cases, bringing the total number of infections to 6,176, while the death toll remained at 103.
AirAsia is trialing a customised personal protective equipment (PPE) design for its cabin crew to use on board rescue flights, amid enhanced safety protocols adopted by airlines due to the pandemic.
Designed by Filipino fashion designer Puey Quinones, the PPE suits come in AirAsia’s signature bright red, and have allegedly been approved by the Philippines’ Department of Health.
AirAsia rolls out new PPE uniforms for cabin crew
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The PPE suits were first used in a recent repatriation flight from Bangkok to Manila, and a further assessment of the design is underway.
Having grounded most of its fleet in March, the carrier plans to resume some of its domestic flights, beginning with Malaysia on April 29, 2020, followed by Thailand, India, Indonesia, and the Philippines, accordingly.
Covid-19 sees proliferation of crowdfunding calls helping cash-crunched tourism companies to foot bills, keep staff on payroll
Some initiatives hinge on goodwill, while others dangle incentives
Crowdfunding craze catches on among tourism providers in the West, but Asian players slow to come on board
It is March 2019. In the mountainous Sapa town of Vietnam’s northwest region, along the Chinese border, popular sights from ethnic markets to a stone church bustle with tourists and locals alike, amid the constant rumble of ongoing construction work.
Fast forward a year later. The coronavirus has quietened the streets of the tourism-reliant town. Almost all businesses are shut, many for good. Construction work in the city has also ground to a halt. Ethnic minorities from neighbouring villages who usually flock to Sapa to sell handicrafts, work as guides or hotel staff have retreated to their hometowns.
Philippine-based eco-tour operator MAD Travel is among the handful of Asian travel players who have turned to crowdfunding to tide through Covid-19; guests learning about indigenous culture from one of the local community members during the agency’s Forests and Folklore tour in the Bataan Forest in the Philippines pictured
Such is the footprint of the pandemic on tourism. Vacation hot spots have turned into ghost towns. Worldwide, tour agencies and hotels report unprecedented declines in bookings. Government-mandated shutdowns hit pause on travel, sounding the final death knell for many tourism providers. For survivors, a hemorrhage of jobs and revenue losses haunt.
For Sapa Sisters, an all-girl trek guiding company, which employs 50 staff, their offices in Hanoi and Sapa and breakfast restaurant, once a hive of activity during the peak spring season, have temporarily shuttered. The company’s homestay in Tan Van village, usually packed with tourists out on multi-day treks at this time, is also now closed. The guides, once busy herding hikers on their treks, now spend their days plowing their family’s rice fields.
Ylva Landoff Lindberg, director at Sapa Sisters Trekking Adventures, said: “Very soon after the corona outbreak in China, Vietnam closed off the border between the countries. Already during the Chinese New Year period, we started getting less bookings and more cancellations. In mid-March, we had to temporarily close down our trekking company due to Covid-19-related precautions.
“As springtime is usually our high season, we quickly got a worrying economic situation, as the global ramifications of the virus hit the travel industry in Vietnam.”
Crowdfunding the tourism scene
Against this bleak backdrop, Sapa Sisters is among a handful of Asian travel players who have turned to crowdfunding to tide through the dry tourism spell, with some incentivising their fund drives by promising hotel stays, private tours and merchandise in return.
On her decision to run a crowdfunding call, Ylva said: “We have run crowdfunding campaigns for different purposes a few times before – and with good results.”
Crowdfunding has gained traction, emerging as a financing alternative to a traditional bank loan, in part due to the economic fallout from the coronavirus. Ylva said she had been looking at taking out a private loan before pivoting to crowdfunding. Already, Sapa Sisters’ crowdfunding call on the GoGetFunding platform has received a groundswell of support, having raised over US$31,400, surpassing its US$20,000 target, with over 900 backers.
Sapa Sisters’ guides May and Chinh posing with tourists during a trek
Crediting the campaign’s success to Sapa Sisters’ supporters worldwide, Ylva said that maintaining a personal touch with clients has always been central to its business – an approach which has turned into a lifeline during these troubled times.
She elaborated: “We customise our tours to fit the travellers’ wishes and all our treks are private. We don’t do group tours. This creates a real relationship between the guide and their guests, and many keep in contact after their treks.
“We are fortunate to have a long list of previous customers that we sent our campaign to via email. We also shared the campaign on our Facebook and Instagram pages. Many of our guides and staff also helped spread the word to their contacts and friends.
“Our biggest donation came from a family who had trekked with us on several occasions. They had to cancel their booking this spring, and instead, they generously gave us a donation of US$5,000.”
Ylva said that the monies raised will cover fixed costs, including rent for offices and homestay, miscellaneous bills, and staff wages. “We will try to stretch the funds as far as possible to stay afloat until our business can open again,” she added.
Sweetening the deal
While some tour operators like Sapa Sisters are banking on goodwill to drive their crowdfunding campaign, others are sweetening the deal by offering incentives to donors.
Over in the Philippines, when Luzon entered enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) due to the pandemic, Make a Difference (MAD) Travel’s co-founder Rafael Dionisio decided to start a fund drive dubbed Feed the Farmers Today & Fund Tomorrow’s Forest on GoGetFunding.
Funds raised by the eco-tour operator, which works with marginalised communities to create authentic experiences, will cover their partner communities, who have lost their income and face a dwindling food supply due to the pause in tourism activity.
The initiative invites people to purchase trees which the communities are paid to plant so they can continue earning a dignified income. At the same time, the trees they plant contribute to their long-term goal of food security through agroforestry.
In return for their tree purchase, funders can receive online courses, tour vouchers, co-founder Thomas Graham’s book The Genius of the Poor, or hand-crafted items by the communities. Thus far, the campaign has reaped nearly 200,000 pesos (US$4,000), with 47 backers.
Dionisio shared: “We decided to run the campaign because we realised the (immediate) impact that the ECQ would have on our sustainable adventures, and consequently, the marginalised communities we work with. We needed a swift response that was simple to execute, true to our core values, and engaging enough to keep going.
“The money is not a donation to the tribe; it is a contract for hiring them to grow fruit and forest trees to address the bigger, more long-term issues of food security and climate change, which we will still face.”
Dionisio said that their campaign’s donors come from all across the Philippines, Europe and the US, ranging from family, friends, past tour guests to even complete strangers.
In the same vein, crowdfunders who give to Japan Localized, a walking tour company in Japan, can get a slice of Kyoto sent to them.
Monies raised in the company’s campaign, also on the GoGetFunding site, will be used to buy traditional Japanese paper from a local shop in Kyoto. The company’s guides will use the paper to write thank-you letters to donors, thus creating work for them. Remaining funds will go towards rent. As well, the company is gifting donors walking tour vouchers for future use.
Japan Localized founder Dai Miyamoto leading a pack of tourists on a walking tour around Tokyo during rosier times
Dai Miyamoto, owner of Japan Localized, said: “Some of our local tour guides are doing this job full-time, and they are struggling to find a temporary job during this pandemic. Local shops, especially souvenir shops for tourists, are struggling too.”
He added that his company has seen a drop of 79 per cent in bookings year-on-year in March, with zero bookings for April, following the suspension of operations.
To date, his crowdfunding plea has raked in about 270,000 yen (US$2,500) – more than half of his 500,000 yen target, from 80 backers. Dai said that he is in the midst of making a short YouTube video to publicise his campaign, and will leverage social media to spread the word.
Turning to the West
While Covid-19-related crowdfunding calls have been popping up by the dozen across the West, with a host of tour operators and hoteliers joining the fray, there are only a handful of such Asian initiatives.
Miyamoto said that crowdfunding is a way to reach out to Western markets, which make up the bulk of his client base, as the notion of giving is not ingrained in Asian mindsets.
“Asia does not have a big culture of donating. Also, in Japan, the notion of asking money from others is not popular. Crowdfunding on a global platform is one way we can reach out to a large audience,” he said, adding that the majority of his crowdfunders hail from the US.
Dionisio added: “Many parts of Asia are just about emerging economies, and crowdfunding might still be a Western or new concept.”
A tribe woman planting seedlings in the agroforest that MAD Travel is helping the tribe grow
Despite the benefits of crowdfunding, Dioniso cautioned against tourism players hopping onto the already-crowded bandwagon for the sake of doing so.
“Crowdfunding might not be for everyone. You need to crowdfund for the right reason, and you also need the right supporter base. If, like us, you have partner communities who were made even more vulnerable and marginalised by the pandemic and lockdown restrictions, and a crowdfunding campaign would swiftly meet their needs, then do so.
“Another thing you need to consider is this – if you want to reach an international audience, you have to make sure the campaign has a clear message and is impactful enough to stand out, because there is currently a lot of fundraising campaigns globally.”
Hotel guest acquisition platform SiteMinder has released its proprietary data on the momentum of hotel bookings around the world, offering insights into when guests are likely to return to hotels post-pandemic, so users can anticipate demand and act swiftly to the first signs of recovery.
Sourced from the bookings of SiteMinder’s 35,000 customers, through more than 400 booking channels globally, the SiteMinder World Hotel Index shows how current hotel booking volumes in all major tourist destinations are changing when compared to the previous year.
SiteMinder’s new tool helps prepare hotels for the rebound in travel demand
Data is available at a global, country and city level to provide insight into both macro and local trends, and cater for the market-specific intelligence that hoteliers, hotel investors and travel professionals need as governments stagger travel restrictions internationally.
Mike Ford, founder and managing director at SiteMinder, said: “A lot of data exists around travel bookings, but nothing is available around hotel booking momentum specifically, and at the speed and scale that SiteMinder is uniquely positioned to provide.
“In this period of huge uncertainty, our customers are seeking a light at the end of this very dark tunnel and we know it will come at different times, as cities and nations begin to lift travel restrictions. The traditional performance indicators around hotel performance have no relevance in a world where hotels have minimal business coming in, if at all.
“Accommodation providers have always stood as the lifeblood of the travel and hospitality industries, and they will resume that role again once the Covid-19 crisis has passed. The World Hotel Index gives them the chance to prepare for their future guests by anticipating when that time will come and looking to other markets as guides in the meantime.”
Asia is predicted to spearhead a return to visitor growth across Asia-Pacific in 2021, according to newly updated forecasts from PATA.
Taking into account the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, PATA projects the volume of arrivals to return to more than 610 million in 2021. This initial recovery is expected to see growth of around three percent above 2019 levels and herald a return to the initial forecast levels shortly thereafter.
Asia is expected to see a rebound in arrival numbers in 2021, with intra-Asia travel a dominant driving force for growth in the region
This growth in international visitor arrivals (IVAs) is likely to vary by source regions, with Asia expected to rebound with the fastest growth rates relative to 2019, as shown below. The Americas, which is expected to show the lowest contraction in its rate of growth in 2020, is forecast to continue with much weaker growth rates over the years to 2024.
During the expected recovery phase in 2021, Asia is expected to generate significantly improved arrival numbers, rebounding from a loss of almost 104 million visitors between 2019 and 2020 to growth of 5.6 per cent in 2021 relative to 2019, seeing over 18 million more arrivals over that period.
Arrivals into the Americas are expected to be relatively strong in 2021, with a net increase of 2.9 million visitors, compared to 2019 figures. This is expected to be driven largely by intra-regional flows which, after a decline of 4.3 million arrivals between 2019 and 2020, are expected to rebound and generate more than 2.5 million arrivals into the Americas relative to 2019.
By the end of 2021, total IVAs into the Americas are projected to be close to three percent above the volume received in 2019. Central America is clearly the strongest generator of arrivals between 2019 and 2021, with more than three-quarters of the additional IVAs coming from that source sub-region alone.
The top five source sub-regions for the Americas between 2019 and 2021 generate a sufficient volume of arrivals into the region to offset continued losses from other source sub-regions and markets.
Into and across Asia, the largest volume increases between 2019 and 2021 are also predicted to be intra-regional for the most part, with a rebound from a loss of almost 98 million arrivals between 2019 and 2020 to an increase of over 17 million between 2019 and 2021.
All the source regions of Asia are projected to show growth between 2019 and 2021, with Europe and the Americas in particular, adding increases in arrivals of 2.5 million and 1.7 million, respectively over that period. By the end of 2021, Asia is predicted to have visitor arrivals numbering five per cent more than in 2019.
The strongest growth in visitor arrivals into Asia is largely out of the Asian source sub-regions, with strong assistance from Central America and East Europe. Together, these top five source sub-regions are predicted to account for 84 per cent of the overall growth in arrivals into Asia between 2019 and 2021. Over three-quarters of that growth volume is projected to come from three of the five Asian source sub-regions.
The Pacific, as a destination region, is likely to have more subdued growth between 2019 and 2021, almost reaching the same volume of IVAs into the region as in 2019. However, it is not expected to return to growth beyond that until 2022 when visitor arrivals are expected to increase by 10.5 per cent above those of 2019.
While arrivals out of Asia are expected to be substantial in 2021 relative to 2019, they are not expected to be substantial enough to offset losses from other source regions, especially the Americas. In 2022, however, all source regions are predicted to deliver substantial growth in IVAs, adding an aggregate increase of a little under three million over the volume received in 2019. At that time, Asia will be the primary source region, delivering 32 per cent of the expected 30.7 million visitor arrivals into the region.
While North America is expected to deliver the most IVAs into the Pacific in 2022, the strongest incremental growth in arrivals between 2019 and 2022 is predicted to come from North-east Asia, followed by South-east Asia and then Oceania. The top five source sub-regions into the Pacific in 2022 are expected to deliver close to 83 per cent of the additional IVAs over that period.
PATA CEO Mario Hardy said: “While we can expect to see severely reduced visitor arrivals into Asia-Pacific this year, and for some through 2021 as well, there is hope going forward. The travel and tourism sector as we have seen during past calamities, is nothing if not resilient, and we expect to see growth beginning in 2021 and continuing on thereafter. That makes the assumption of course that this pandemic and its associated negative effects are contained and over by then.
“As we rebuild the travel and tourism sector into the future, it is worth considering whether we want it to be ‘business as usual’ or whether we can initiate new policies, procedures and practices that will enable us to see beyond the vision of growth at all costs. Perhaps now, we can give real meaning to the oft-quoted mantra of ‘people before profit’ and create a sector that generates employment and business opportunities first that can then deliver memorable experiences to visitors across Asia-Pacific and indeed the world.”
Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has intensified its efforts on social media to stay connected with Malaysians – its second largest inbound market after China – in hopes that the destination will be the preferred choice for Malaysian holidaymakers once travel restrictions are lifted.
Malaysians have been under the movement control order (MCO) since March 18, and health authorities have indicated that travel bans may continue to be enforced even after the MCO is lifted.
Thailand eyes Malaysian tourists once travel restrictions are lifted; travellers at the Saraburi Sunflower Field in Khao Yai, Thailand pictured
Nongyao Jirundorn, TAT director for Malaysia, said that the tourism board has uploaded many videos on Thai cuisine, as well as attractions and activities across Thailand, on their social media platforms since March.
“We have chefs giving lessons on how to make mango sticky rice and other Thai favourites, as well as VR videos on selected destinations and attractions, offering travellers ideas on where to holiday after the pandemic ends and when people start travelling again,” she said.
Nongyao added they are also conducting webinars for Malaysian partners to keep them updated on its latest products and to stay in touch with them.
According to a survey conducted by TAT, most leisure tourists visit Thailand primarily for its food, shopping, wellness and spa, followed by attractions and activities.
Last year, Thailand recorded some 4.166 million Malaysian tourists, of which around 70 per cent were repeat visitors.
