Issue #149 - Chinese Tourists Are Returning to a Tropical Corner of South East Asia
The East Malaysian state of Sabah ticks many of the travel boxes in 2024.
Welcome to issue 149 of Asia Travel Re:Set.
The lessons you learn…
Last week, the juxtaposition in the newsletter headline of the terms “China” and “visa easing” resulted in the biggest single-issue readership of 2024 so far.
So, a big ‘Thank you’ to everyone who took the time to peruse Issue #148 - and to the many new subscribers.
In last week’s intro, I mentioned that I was staying for a few days in Kota Kinabalu - and that Chinese summer arrivals were strong.
So let’s follow that train of thought…
Thanks for checking in.
- “IN THE NEWS”
- Chinese Tourists Are Returning to a Tropical Corner of South East Asia
The East Malaysian state of Sabah ticks many of the travel boxes in 2024.
- Leveraging Local Gastronomy Trends into High-Yield Tourism
Reflections from UN Tourism’s 1st Asia Pacific Forum on Gastronomy Tourism.
“IN THE NEWS”
South East Asia bets big on casinos, but who will take Singapore’s crown? “While the Philippines is hot on the city-state’s heels, Thailand may be a dark horse to watch.”
“Gary Bowerman, an analyst of Asia travel and consumer trends and director at Check-in Asia, tells The Business Times that… “Players such as the Philippines and Thailand ‘have really looked at Singapore and Macau and realised that gaming transforms the whole tourism industry, not just the casino segment’.”
Many thanks to Ruoxue Goh for including some of my comments in this deep-dive into the changing landscape for casino tourism in ASEAN for The Business Times.
Chinese Tourists Are Returning to a Tropical Corner of South East Asia
Last weekend, the kopitiams, cafes and rooftop bars of Kota Kinabalu resonated with Chinese voices. So, too, did the hotel breakfast buffets, the harbour-side boardwalk and the dock where tour boats depart for trips around the nearby islands. It’s summer school holidays in China, and family travellers are returning in sizeable numbers to this warm-hearted city, which is the capital of Sabah state.
The barometer for China’s re-shaping outbound recovery is often conveyed via mega-stat destinations like Thailand, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Vietnam, as well as Hong Kong and Macau. Malaysia, which offers visa-free access, is also mentioned in despatches, but geography creates a unique structure to its Chinese inbound mix.
As the above map shows, Peninsular Malaysia (which is connected to mainland South East Asia) attracts visitors to the national capital Kuala Lumpur, cities with a strong Chinese heritage, like Penang, Melaka and Ipoh, and a selection of islands like Langkawi, Pangkor, Tioman and the Perhentians.
By contrast, Sabah is 1 of 2 states - along with Sarawak - located on the vast island of Borneo (shared with Brunei and Indonesia) which comprise East Malaysia. Chinese visitors come here for the seafood, the laidback lifestyle and the thrills of coastal and rainforest adventure. Early morning photos of Mount Kinabalu and evening sunset shots are also prized. As mentioned, it is popular with families and young couples.
Sunset viewed from the Kota Kinabalu waterfront boardwalk (Gary Bowerman)
China Accounts for 10% of Air Capacity
Sabah has its own immigration policy and its own Ministry of Tourism, which counts a testy relationship with its federal Malaysian counterpart, and a progressive destination marketing strategy. It feels like Malaysia, yet slightly different.
While 72% of visitors to Sabah this year are domestic, its airport gateway in Kota Kinabalu draws much of its inbound traffic from North East Asia. Flights to/from 7 Chinese cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Wuhan and Hangzhou, are complemented by Seoul, Taipei and Hong Kong. Singapore is the best served South East Asian market. In this holiday month, China accounts for 9.6% of weekly air capacity at Kota Kinabalu International Airport.
As you can see from the below graphic, China is way out in front as Sabah’s #1 inbound market from January-May 2024.
In 2023, 78,670 visitors from China (up from just 6,463 in pandemic-ravaged 2022), made it Sabah’s #4 visitor market after Brunei, South Korea and Indonesia. Last year, China accounted for 9.2% of international visitors to Sabah. This underpinned just how cautiously China’s outbound market was recovering. But 2024 is different.
In the first 5 months of this year, total Chinese visitors (167,400) are 213% up on the full year 2023 figure, and account for 35.0% of Sabah’s international visitors. Indeed, Sabah is edging closer to the 2019 ratio, when 598,566 Chinese visitors accounted for 40.7% of international visitors.
So, while the media monitors larger destinations to gauge the recovery of Chinese tourism, keep an eye on Sabah - particularly during peak holiday periods. It is well marketed, and offers many of the attractions that visitors from China and North East Asia are seeking for short getaways - away from the madding crowds.
Leveraging Local Gastronomy Trends into High-Yield Tourism
The symbiosis of food and tourism is not new, but the contexts are changing. In Asia Pacific, fast-moving trends in food tourism are driven by social media videos, tasting tests and a raft of culinary awards, guides, ratings and reviews. Beyond the restless palates of travellers, deeper issues like climate impact, resource allocation, automated farming and fair pricing for agricultural producers are gaining urgency.
On Episode 4 of the High-Yield Tourism Podcast, Dr. Jens Thraenhart and I reflect on these issues and more following our trip to Cebu for the inaugural UN Tourism Regional Forum on Gastronomy Tourism for Asia Pacific.
Co-hosted by the Philippines Department of Tourism, UN Tourism & the Basque Culinary Centre, it brought together delegates from 43 countries to discuss the future of culinary tourism in the context of post-pandemic socio-economic development.
A closing Call to Action identified 12 factors for governments and private sector businesses to consider as gastronomy tourism accounts for a bigger slice of destination marketing across the region.
Catch Episode 4 of the High-Yield Tourism Podcast, “Leveraging Local Gastronomy Trends into High-Yield Tourism,” here:
🎧 Spotify 🎧 Apple Podcasts 🎧 Website
Or search for the High-Yield Tourism Podcast wherever you grab your podcasts.
And, that’s a wrap for issue 149.
The Asia Travel Re:Set newsletter will be back next Sunday.
Until then, find me at LinkedIn, The South East Asia Travel Show and High-Yield Tourism.
Happy travels,
Gary