Issue #140 - What is High-Yield Tourism, And Why Does it Matter?
Can high-yield tourism build a bridge between mass and luxury tourism?
Welcome to issue 140 of Asia Travel Re:Set.
“High-yield tourism can be a bridge between mass tourism and luxury tourism.”
That's a bold statement, but is it realistic? And how might the travel and tourism industries endeavour to build that much-coveted bridge?
In the 1st edition of our new High-Yield Tourism Podcast, Dr. Jens Thraenhart and I discuss the current global tourism landscape - and the tough questions that need to be asked about making visitor economy growth more balanced, manageable and resilient.
So, let’s follow that train of thought.
Thanks for checking-in.
- “IN THE NEWS”
- What is High-Yield Tourism, And Why Does it Matter?
Can high-yield tourism build a bridge between mass and luxury tourism?
- South East Asian Travel & Tourism: April 2024 in Review
From "Everyone wants to go to Japan" to "Three towers with a surf board".
“IN THE NEWS”
"Chinese travellers booked hotels in 1,035 cities worldwide during the May Holiday." So, how important is this mini Golden Week for domestic tourism in China and regional and global destinations? Where are the holiday hotspots? And - the billion dollar question - when will Chinese outbound tourism recover to pre-pandemic levels?
Many thanks to Natalia Scott for inviting me to join CGTN Europe to discuss the May holiday and the travel outlook for the rest of 2024. Click HERE to watch the interview.
What is High-Yield Tourism, And Why Does it Matter?
Can the metrics applied to measure tourism success evolve to meet changing global economics, and hardening public sentiment against high volumes of tourists in popular locations?
Worldwide, tourism is in the media cross-hairs for its impacts on local communities. The term over-tourism is again making headlines from Japan to Thailand and Italy to the Netherlands. Just as it was pre-pandemic, this presents a stern and fast-shifting challenge for the travel industry and national and local governments.
In the rush to recover from the pandemic, many destinations and tourism segments have pursued the matching of pre-Covid arrivals. This rebound has been championed by governments to demonstrate (necessary) economic revival. However, a backlash is developing, and public antipathy towards mass tourism is gaining fervour.
“We’re not against mass tourism or luxury tourism, Growth is important, we don’t want to stall growth. We’ve all just come out of Covid, and saw what happens when the pendulum swings to the extreme where there is no tourism at all.”
Covid-19 delivered a generational shock to the travel industry. With demand surging again, the pandemic’s long shadow will shape future interactions between the travel and tourism industries, travellers and urban, rural and coastal residents.
So, is it possible to transition from a quantity-driven model by reallocating resources in product development, marketing and delivery? Could restructuring strategy and investment foster a culture of positive-impact tourism and drive lasting economic and social benefits?
Or is it simply fanciful?
“We don’t think high-yield tourism will save the world, but high-yield travellers - who are not luxury travellers - generate significant spending by staying longer, appreciating the culture and heritage of a destination and connecting with local communities.”
Listen to Episode 1 of the High-Yield Tourism Podcast “What is High-Yield Tourism, And Why Does it Matter?”:
🎧 Spotify 🎧 Amazon Music
— Episode 2: Applying High-Yield Tourism in Dynamic Asian Markets, will be published on Sunday. —
So, What is High-Yield Tourism?
Tourism is a business. Of course it is. And a powerful pillar of many economies. But front-end marketing to drive (and compare) visitor numbers is reprising pre-pandemic challenges. Can the success metrics be addressed differently to focus on yield and not arrivals - and optimise under-served market segments, like high-yield travellers?
“High-yield tourism looks at spend, and how much money is being spent in a destination. On top of that, how much of that spend is actually staying in the destination to reduce the leakage factor? If money leaks out of a destination, it is not creating economic benefits for local communities.”
Rethinking a destination’s competitive advantages doesn’t just mean producing glossy videos. Deeper segmentation of high-yield visitor markets takes into consideration various elements, such as travel preferences - and changing desires related to lifestyle. New travel products and services can be developed to match evolving expectations.
Rethinking social media - which gets a bad rap for contributing to the collation of visitors in must-see destinations - can also be a factor. On the podcast, we discus how savvy, highly contextual social marketing by third-and fourth-tier destinations in China is enticing young people away from the first-tier locations.
There are - and will be many more - tough questions to ask and find answers:
How do we make sure that destinations and their assets are protected, and residents and all stakeholders can be part of the equation?
Will better study and segmentation of high-yield markets support this, or is the set of challenges much more broadly based?
Is global tourism too focused on promoting its “sustainable” credentials, and not asking enough direct questions about how high-yield travellers think and act?
And, while destinations often focus on identifiable high-growth markets - are we all taking our eyes off the ball…?
“A global reality is that we are going to see huge demand for travel and tourism from the Economic South. This was already happening before the pandemic in the emerging economies of Asia, Latin America and Africa. The level of demand is going to become almost insatiable, and the challenges around visitor arrivals will grow accordingly.”
We are only getting started.
Full disclosure, Jens and I have been working together to develop an integrated tourism strategy planning and information service, called High-Yield Tourism.
We have some fascinating guests lined up for the podcast in the coming weeks - and we’ll be rolling out new tools and services very soon.
Stay tuned!
South East Asian Travel & Tourism: April 2024 in Review
From “Everyone wants to go to Japan” to “Thailand's on the verge of over-tourism” to “Three towers with a surf board on top”. Our April mini-roundup features clips from our interview with Philip See, Group Chief Sustainability Officer of Malaysia Aviation Group, about the low-carbon aviation challenges in South East Asia.
Plus, we break down Japan’s astonishing surge of inbound travel from South East Asia, tackle the re-emergence (or otherwise) of Thailand's Tourism Tax, and Hannah consults Google Maps to locate the 4th tower of Singapore's Marina Bay Sands resort.
Listen to ‘“Everyone Wants to Go to Japan”: April 2024 in Review’, here:
Or search for The South East Asia Travel Show on any podcast platform
And, that’s a wrap for Issue 140.
The Asia Travel Re:Set newsletter will return next Sunday.
Until then, find me at LinkedIn and The South East Asia Travel Show
Happy travels,
Gary