Issue #124 - 10 Tourism Talking Points in Asia Pacific That Will Always Remind Us of 2023!
This year's top travel stories from Thailand, China, Japan, Indonesia & beyond.
Welcome to issue 124 of Asia Travel Re:Set.
Four years ago, I was sat in my parents’ dining room in Oxford when news first filtered through about suspected cases of “pneumonia” in China.
We all know what followed.
Four years later, I am looking out the same rain-lashed dining room window with two sturdy lines staring up at me from a Covid test sitting on the table.
It’s been a dramatic year, with myriad newsworthy developments. Indeed, travel and tourism were scrutinised more in the Asia Pacific media in 2023 than ever before.
So let’s follow that train of thought…
Thanks for checking-in.
- “IN THE NEWS”
- 10 Tourism Talking Points in Asia Pacific That Will Always Remind Us of 2023!
This year's top stories from Thailand, China, Japan, Indonesia & beyond.
“IN THE NEWS”
My final event of 2023 was a cracker in Jakarta. A pleasure to kick off Indonesia Tourism Outlook 2024, and take part in panels with Sandiaga S. Uno, Minister of Tourism & Creative Economy, Agustini Rahayu, Director at Ministry of Tourism & Creative Economy, Maya Watono, Tiara Kusuma and Hariyadi BS Sukamdani. Thanks to the Ministry of Tourism & Creative Economy and Forwaparekraf for an informative and (yes) fun tourism strategy event for Indonesian media. More images HERE.
"Thailand will be hoping for more stable and predictable demand patterns for Chinese arrivals, and overall growth is expected in 2024... However, forecasting a precise figure at the moment, with airlines nervous about adding back capacity, is a bit like waving your finger in the wind." Interesting piece about the challenges Thailand encountered this year in rebuilding its Chinese inbound market by Tommy Walker for Deutsche Welle, with comments by me and others. Click to read HERE.
10 Tourism Talking Points in Asia Pacific That Will Always Remind Us of 2023!
Japan’s Inbound Rebound - As I wrote in Issue 123, “the dramatic tourism recovery of Japan is Asia Pacific’s biggest story of 2023.” A little more than one year after reopening its borders in mid-October 2022, Japan had attracted around 20 million visitors. The year’s lowest monthly arrivals were in January (1.45 million), while July brought 2.3 million snd October 2.5 million.
Air India Buys Big - Pre-pandemic, it was rare for the global news, aviation and travel media to all rhapsodise about an aircraft purchase. In February, Air India rocked the news agenda by agreeing to buy 470 Airbus and Boeing planes. Boeing forecasts that within a decade, India will become the world’s 3rd-largest air travel market, after the US and China.
Indonesia: HSR Nation - In October, Indonesia became the first high-speed rail nation in South East Asia. Chinese bullet trains travel at up to 350 kph on the new China-engineered Jakarta-Bandung Whoosh railway. It may in future be extended (considerably) to Surabaya. China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan also have high-speed networks in Asia Pacific. More will follow. Thailand and India are next up.
Macau’s Musical Makeover - As per Issue 119, Macau’s 2023 recovery has been impressive, as has the shift in emphasis from casino floor to concert hall. Music tourism is thriving with sell-out shows by Korean megastars Blackpink, Chinese boyband TNT and a roll-call of Hong Kong pop icons, plus the Hush beach concert series attracting Chinese Gen Zs. Bruno Mars will play the MGM Arena in early January kickstarting Macau’s biggest ever concert calendar in 2024.
Chinese Air Capacity - 2023’s most-discussed story was China. After 3 absent years, Chinese tourists took off again. Volumes were lower than regional tourism boards hoped but unsurprising given the scale of upheaval in Chinese society and in its travel industry. A key metric is 348,000 - the total of international flights so far in 2023, “a decrease of 52% compared to the same period in 2019” (Variflight).
Singapore Swift - By mid-July 2023, 26% of Singapore’s hotel occupancy was pre-booked for March 2024. The reason was a pop megastar at the height of her powers. Taylor Swift will play 6 nights at the National Stadium in early March. And while Ms Swift effortlessly sold out the entire US and much of the world, Singapore’s ability to negotiate exclusivity in South East Asia attracted a rush to book hotel rooms by fans from across the region 7 months out from her shows.
Movie Tourism Gets Dark - 10 years ago, a knockabout movie set in Chiang Mai kickstarted a surge in Chinese tourism to Thailand. Released in late 2012, Lost in Thailand was adopted by Chinese tour operators which created tours to shooting locations that sold out in 2013. This year, 2 Chinese movies, No More Bets and (the highly entertaining) Lost in the Stars, showed a darker side of (unnamed) South East Asian nations, generating a social media scare and much media coverage.
Return of Visa Waivers - Visa-free entry for tourists from high-volume markets was a feature of the 2010s. With Covid, governments re-erected barriers. By Q4, regional tourism competition was heating up (and Chinese arrivals were fewer than expected). Thailand (initially temporarily) and Malaysia dropped visas for top markets (think: China & India) and China surprised everyone. Indonesia is next up.
Bhutan Backs Down - In September 2022, Bhutan described itself “the first carbon-negative country in the world.” It launched a USD200 per night Sustainable Development Fee, which is “a daily levy paid by visitors to support Bhutan’s development.” One year later, it decided to halve that fee to USD100, as part of “incentives and policy measures to boost the tourism sector.”
Neo Night Tourism - The most feedback I get from my conference presentations centres on Night Tourism. In particular, how evolutions in China’s night economies are filtering across North East Asia and, gradually, South East Asia. Nanning, Zibo and Changsha may not be familiar destinations but they skilfully use night tourism to build a brand among domestic tourists. Night-time drone shows are gaining global popularity, and are used by Chinese cities to present localised visions of history and modernity. My favourite image this year is from Chongqing, which is famous - among many other reasons - for an elevated train that passes through a building. This was neatly depicted by drone art in the night sky. In tourism, as per a timeless sporting phrase, “Play to your strengths.”
And, that’s a wrap for Issue 124 - and for the year.
The Asia Travel Re:Set newsletter is taking a break, and will return on 14 January.
Until then, find me at LinkedIn, The South East Asia Travel Show and re:set strategies.
Happy travels,
Gary