Issue #109 - 6 Tourism Stories You May Have Missed This Week in Asia Pacific!
Issue #109 - 6 Tourism Stories You May Have Missed This Week in Asia Pacific!
Barbecue tourism in China, a new Thailand departure tax and a "visitor quota" in Bali
Welcome to issue 109 of Asia Travel Re:Set.
It’s been a holiday period in Asia. Labour Day was integrated with national and cultural celebrations to create ‘Golden Week’ public holidays in many countries.
Domestic and regional travel rebounded strongly from a year ago, and brought a bunch of new challenges, plus a spike in Covid infections.
So let’s follow that train of thought…
Thanks for checking-in.
- “IN THE NEWS”
- 6 Tourism Stories You May Have Missed This Week in Asia Pacific!
Barbecue tourism in China, a new Thailand departure tax and a "visitor quota" in Bali
“IN THE NEWS”
“The Chinese travel recovery is on, it’s just not everything, everywhere, all at once.” Yet. This is a thoughtful, data-driven analysis by OTA Insight about what has (and hasn't) happened in Chinese outbound travel since 8 January. Many thanks to Alex Hadwick for including my inputs. Well worth 5 minutes of your time. Read HERE.
Two weeks ago, I was asked by Ant Group in Hangzhou to provide a comment about the changing digital payments landscape in South East Asia for Chinese travellers ahead of the May Golden Week. It got picked up by more than 12 Chinese news, tech and travel media outlets, including this one.
6 Tourism Stories You May Have Missed This Week in Asia Pacific!
Barbecue tourism in China, a new Thailand departure tax and a "visitor quota" in Bali
Cannabis mocktails on sale last week in Phuket Town
1) China’s Domestic Tourism A-to-Zibo
Travel is back in China. Some 274 million domestic trips were made during the 5-day May Golden Week. The media buzz has been all about Zibo, an industrial city in northern Shandong province.
Zibo became a hot ticket due to a recent social buzz about its open-air barbecue markets. Chinese OTA Qunar notes “hotel bookings increased 20-fold year-on-year.”
Barbecue cuisines are widespread in China, so why Zibo? It’s success was engineered by the local government notes the ever-readable Shirley Ze Yu. “It set up a special high-speed rail line to Zibo, built a massive site near the rail line, and encouraged all locals to get out of their way to please tourists.” Zibo, she adds, “is the first local government that is innovating the role of government to revitalize the local economy.”
2) More Mass Tourism Pronouncements in Bali
A tourism tax. Scooter ban. Now a tourist quota. Bali’s governor Wayan Koster is, understandably, weary of misbehaving foreign tourists disrespecting local culture and ways of living. (I discussed some of the issues recently in an article by Skift.)
Balinese authorities have tried various measures, including deportations of tourists who break not just local norms, but the law.
This week, the governor floated the notion of a “quota system” to restrict “mass tourism” - even suggesting reservations may need to be made 1 year in advance.
This seems unlikely. Bali does not have jurisdiction over immigration policy. Jakarta does. With Indonesia’s 2024 Presidential election campaign gaining momentum, there are other national issues taking precedence. One to watch, though.
3) Thailand’s Cannabis Conundrum
Almost one year after Thailand became South East Asia’s first nation to decriminalise cannabis, the evidence is everywhere. I was in Phuket last week, where cannabis cafés, edibles and drinkables (see above) are ubiquitous. Spas even offer “weed massage.”
Reuters reports that politicians are trading concerns about the lack of a legal framework around cannabis use as a very tense General Election looms on 14 May. The Tourism Authority of Thailand is also reportedly uneasy. As Chinese tourists return in larger numbers, research by Chulalongkorn University showed the issue of cannabis availability was trending negatively in the Chinese media.
The in-tray for a new Tourism Minister is piling up. Policy pitches by the parties feature BIG visitor projections. Then came a proposal for a hefty THB1000 Departure Tax. Expect that to be filed in a drawer marked “Things to Kick Down the Road.”
Are you ready for a Chinese tourism rebound? “With capacity continuing to increase, Chinese consumers will soon seek destinations beyond APAC and return to long-haul travel to EMEA and the Americas,” said Jane Sun, CEO of Trip.com, this week.
The 2023 China Outbound Tourism Handbook is now published in English, French, German, Italian and Spanish. Written by myself and Prof. Wolfgang Georg Arlt, this 105-page Handbook provides practical insights and advice for businesses worldwide as a new era of tourism unfolds.
More details HERE
Grab your copy HERE.
4) Casino Tourism Controversy in Malaysia
Recent “casino tourism” stories in Asia have focused on Japan’s selection of the 2025 Osaka Expo site for its first integrated resort, and Thailand’s House Committee Report about legalising casinos for Thais and tourists.
Malaysia has long been a player in the game, with its Genting Highlands casino resort, but tensions are emerging in East Malaysia. A proposed casino forms part of the Borneo Highlands golf resort in the state of Sarawak. Malaysia’s Tourism, Arts & Culture Minister Tiong King Sing, who is from Sarawak, supports the project. Political party PAS (Parti Islam Se-Malaysia) is strongly opposed.
“Many Middle Eastern countries are gradually moving towards moderation. For example, the United Arab Emirates which will host Miss World 2023 this year and there are luxury casinos in the Middle East. So, is Malaysia in particular Sarawak not entitled to be developed?” said the Minister this week.
Will the project get off the ground? This thoughtful Op-Ed in The Edge thinks not.
5) Tourism Price Backlash in Vietnam
Vietnamese media has been filled with tourist complaints about overpriced domestic flight tickets during the 5-day Reunification Day/May Day holiday. “Increasing airfare the mindset of small-time tourism,” noted this comment in VnExpress. Tourists also reported price hikes in destinations like Phu Quoc and Sa Pa.
While overall numbers were up - Vietnam recorded 7 million domestic trips during the holidays, compared to 5 million in 2022 - here’s a note of caution from a respondent to a national survey by VnExpress:
“I think airlines see people starting to travel again after the long Covid-19 period, so they think they can raise fares high to make up for losses. But that is a mistake. When fares are raised too high, tourists tend to switch to foreign travel.”
Or… is that part of the plan?
6) The Return of Covid Caution?
Media across Asia is reporting rising Covid-19 infections. This coincides with the WHO declaring it no longer “a public health emergency of international concern.”
Governmental concerns in South East Asia emerged as cases rose after the Labour Day / Hari Raya/Lebaran / Buddhist New Year travel periods. This week, Indonesia’s highest daily infections for 5 months were blamed on the Arcturus sub-variant.
Here in KL, mask wearing has become noticeably more prevalent in recent days - although nowhere near the level of 4 or 5 months ago.
And, that’s a wrap for Issue 109.
The Asia Travel Re:Set newsletter will return on 21 May.
Until then, find me on LinkedIn and The South East Asia Travel Show, which is back after a 2-week break.
Happy travels,
Gary