Issue #127 - This Week's 8 Key Travel & Tourism Talking Points in Asia Pacific!
The region is abuzz ahead of the busiest Lunar New Year travel season since 2019.
Welcome to issue 127 of Asia Travel Re:Set.
Firstly, a quick update….
Long-time readers will remember when the newsletter was a weekly thing. And now it’s back…
Every second Sunday, subscribers will still receive an in-depth dive into the region’s key issues. Plus, on the weekend in between, I’ll update you (in brief) with the top talking points across Asia Pacific from the previous 7 days.
So let’s get ready for take-off…
Thanks for checking-in.
This Week’s Top 8 Travel & Tourism Talking Points in Asia Pacific!
The region is abuzz ahead of the busiest Lunar New Year travel season since 2019.
Let’s begin with China’s air market, the world’s 2nd-largest, which is about to undergo its annual Lunar New Year spike-and-plateau period. Meantime, in the first 28 days of 2024, there were 355,900 domestic flights, up 9% versus 2019, and 47,600 international flights, up 559% from 2023 but down 34% versus 2019. [Variflight]
With tourism boards across South East Asia setting their annual arrivals targets, the China Tourism Academy forecasts 130 million outbound trips from China in 2023. “More international flights, further optimized visa policies and the recovery of outbound tourism service chains will contribute to the sector's development.” [China Daily]
110 million. That’s the annual visitor arrivals target by 2026 of Hainan Island, China’s tropical holiday destination. In 2023, Hainan welcomed 90 million visitors - 3 times more than Thailand - and plans to achieve 100 million by 2025. [China Daily]
Talking of which, Thailand retained its #1 tourism ranking in South East Asia in 2023, with 28.2 million visitors - 72% of which were from ASEAN countries. Malaysia placed 2nd, followed by Singapore, Vietnam and Indonesia. [The South East Asia Travel Show]
Chart of the Week
Thailand’s Tourism ‘Valley’: A visual representation of how Covid-19 impacted its key inbound markets…
[Source: Bank of Thailand]
And so to Japan, whose trade regulatory authority approved the proposed merger between Korean Air and Asiana Airlines. The potential size of the merged airline means the deal, which was agreed in late 2020, needs approval by 14 competition commissions. Still to approve it are the US and the EU. [Korean Air]
“In 2023, South Korean and Japanese tourists took first place in the rankings of the numbers of foreign tourists to Japan and South Korea,” is my favourite article intro of the week. Some 2.32 million Japanese visited South Korea last year, with 6.96 million Koreans flying in the opposite direction. Lower than pre-pandemic arrivals to both countries from China proved a decisive rankings factor. [BusinessKorea]
Self-drive trips will “revitalise” South East Asia’s tourism economy, says Malaysia’s Tourism, Arts & Culture Minister, Tiong King Sing. He pledged to “proactively cooperate” with Thailand to promote cross-border self-drive routes. Discussions have also taken place with Vietnam and Laos to create a 4-country road travel framework. [The Edge Malaysia]
And finally, to New Zealand, where the tourism authority spent “almost a quarter of a million dollars” on social media influencer campaigns last year. “In some markets, where there is low knowledge of New Zealand, [influencers] can be used to help gain wider reach and top of mind awareness with a large number of people,” says Tourism New Zealand. [NZ Herald]
And, that’s a wrap for Issue 127.
The Asia Travel Re:Set newsletter will return on 11 February.
Until then, find me at LinkedIn, The South East Asia Travel Show and re:set strategies.
Happy travels,
Gary