Issue #45 - Faster Vaccine Rollouts Are Vital For Asia Pacific's Travel Recovery
"South Korean travellers are heading to European destinations for summer holidays."
Hello. Welcome to Asia Travel Re:Set…
“Pent-up demand” has been a ubiquitous pandemic-era phrase. It is generally used to opine that travellers across Asia are rattling the airport gates for an overseas vacation.
This week, it was applied to a vaccine programme in Singapore.
As registration began for (fee-paying) Sinovac jabs at 24 private clinics, a doctor noted a release of pent-up demand for the Chinese-made vaccine in some communities.
After 16 months of hard borders and shifting COVID-19 infection and hospitalisation rates, finding ways to expedite vaccine rollouts is Priority No. 1 across Asia Pacific.
This week, Malaysia’s king said faster vaccination is the only route out of COVID-19, Indonesian President Joko Widodo called for 1 million more national shots per day.
Meanwhile, Thailand’s Prime Minister vowed to fully reopen Thailand to international travellers “within 120 days” subject, of course, to accelerated inoculation efforts.
As we reach the midpoint of 2021, it’s plausible to ask: “What took them so long?”
Oh yeah, and what is “vaccine breakthrough”? Read on…
Thanks for being on board,
Gary
The Sunday Itinerary
- DashBoard
From 2.59 billion down to 32 this week
- QuoteBoard
WHO Director-General on COVID-19 infection and death rates and vaccine supplies
- Faster Vaccine Rollouts Are Vital For Asia Pacific's Travel Recovery
Mixed travel messages in North East Asia
South East Asia takes stock of Thailand’s tourism return
Shots in the arm for Australia, New Zealand & Fiji
DashBoard
From 2.59 billion down to 32 this week…
2.59 billion: Total vaccine shots administered globally by 19 July. [University of Oxford]
75 million: “Best case scenario” for total domestic travel trips in the Philippines in 2021. [Department of Tourism]
119,600: Total passengers on Singapore Airlines flights in May 2021, up 8.4% from April. [Airline statement]
38,346: Total passengers handled at Phnom Penh International Airport in the first 4 months of 2021, down 94.3% on the same 2020 period. [Khmer Times]
32: Number of passengers on an Air China flight from Johannesburg to Shenzhen that tested positive for COVID-19. [Caixin]
QuoteBoard
You heard it here…
“Globally, the number of new cases of COVID-19 reported to WHO has now declined for 7 weeks in a row, which is the longest sequence of weekly declines during the pandemic so far.”
“While weekly cases are at their lowest since February, deaths are not falling as quickly. The number of deaths reported last week was similar to the previous week.”
“I welcome the announcement that G7 countries will donate 870 million vaccine doses, primarily through COVAX. This is a big help, but we need more, and we need them now, not next year. There are enough doses of vaccines globally to drive down transmission and save many lives.”
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, speaking on 17 June.
Faster Vaccine Rollouts Are Vital for a Travel Recovery
It’s fair to say that Thailand sparked a regional navel-gaze with the Prime Minister’s vow to reopen the country to vaccinated travellers “within 120 days” - subject, of course, to a list of clauses and caveats.
Four months is a long time in a pandemic, but will this spark a scramble to prevent Thailand from enjoying first-mover tourism advantage for too long?
Or, conversely, have Thailand’s reopening flip-flops been so numerous that watching and waiting may be the more pragmatic move?
Anyway, here’s a snapshot of the various discussions around vaccination rollouts, vaccine supplies, digital passports and vaccine-centric travel reboots this week…
North East Asia
So let’s begin in China, where media attention is focused on the Shenzhou-12 space station and preparations for the 100th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party.
Meanwhile, China has likely hit the 1 billion jabs mark by the time you read this. “More than 945.1 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered,” said the National Health Commission on Friday.
This week, Japan lifted the State of Emergency in 9 prefectures, including Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka. Meanwhile, the government will begin issuing vaccination certificates (in paper form!) for Japanese international travellers later this month.
Consternation in some quarters as Japan donated 966,320 vaccine doses to Vietnam, following a similar recent donation to Taiwan, given its own slow rollout.
This article in The Diplomat explains that 1) the vaccines appear to be unwanted AstraZeneca shots, and b) Japan is flexing its “vaccine diplomacy” muscles with prospective donations also to Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines.
And to South Korea, where the government announced a quarantine waiver from July for vaccinated arrivals for “business, academic, public interest or humanitarian purposes.” Vaccinated tourists must still complete a 14-day quarantine, except for “group tours from ‘travel bubble’ countries.”
Meanwhile, South Korea’s vaccine rollout steams on, hitting 27.7% this week, and targeting 70% by September - and local media was awash with busy Seoul airport photos as Korean travellers head to European destinations for summer holidays.
Inbound vs Outbound vs Domestic. With Phuket and Bali focused on attracting inbound visitors, this week’s The South East Asia Travel Show asks: How will outbound and domestic travel be integrated into tourism planning across South East Asia in future? And, will domestic travel be shunted into the background once more?
South East Asia
So much has been written about Thailand’s drawn-out “Sandbox” process, but it is nearing fruition, albeit with caveats. The cabinet on Tuesday should approve Phuket’s reopening on 1 July, with Ko Samui, Ko Phangan and Ko Tao to follow on 15 July.
If all goes to plan (!!) and provincial vaccination rates meet stated targets, Krabi, Phang Nga, Pattaya, Chiang Mai and Buri Ram may board the reopening train in the coming months.
“The TAT has been instructed by the Ministry of Tourism and Sport to adjust our strategy to reopen pilot destinations under the ‘island and sealed approach’ within the third quarter, leading to the reopening of more destinations from October,” said Yuthasak Supasorn, TAT Governor.
The updated details from the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) are here.
While demand at private clinics in Singapore for Sinovac (see intro) is being talked up, the health authorities are unconvinced about its efficacy. Sinovac has not been approved for the national programme, and Kenneth Mak, Director of Medical Services at the Ministry of Health told the media on Friday:
“Because that data is still limited, the Health Sciences Authority has not been able to make progress in converting Sinovac from simply a vaccine made available through the special access route into one that actually has pandemic special access route approval.”
He also talked about “vaccine breakthrough” - ie, fully vaccinated people contracting COVID-19, and booster shots for Sinovac recipients 6 months after their two jabs.
Next to Malaysia, where outrage and humorous social media memes broke out after publication of the government’s National Recovery Plan. The retail, F&B, SME and education sectors were especially outraged, while travel providers are facing up to a prolonged domestic travel ban (which began in mid-January) enduring until November.
Subsequently, the King ordered Parliament to be reconvened “as soon as possible,” and decreed that the 6-month national State of Emergency must expire on 1 August.
As Malaysia hit a record daily vaccination rate of 221,706 on 17 June, mixed political messages continued to plague the nation’s pandemic response.
Discussing the trajectory of the vaccine rollout, the (widely respected) Minister in charge of the inoculation programme, Khairy Jamaluddin, said on Thursday:
“I have stopped using that term, the other leaders are still using ‘herd immunity’, but I have advised the Prime Minister to be careful when using the term herd immunity… looking at the data and the science, this may very well be endemic.”
Today’s headline in Malay Mail:
“[Health Director General] Dr Noor Hisham expects Malaysia to achieve herd immunity by end 2021.”
To Indonesia, which reported a 4-month daily high of COVID-19 infections on Friday. The situation is particularly acute in the (current) capital Jakarta, which accounted for 36.47% of new infections, leading to debate about a potential new lockdown.
In response, President Joko Widodo urged the health authorities to boost daily jabs to 100,000, and set an August target for Jakarta to cross the magical ‘herd immunity’ threshold. He added:
“It's an ambitious target but we have no other options but to do it.”
Quite.
Briefly stopping over in Laos, the current policy that all visitors, including fully vaccinated travellers, must undergo a 14-quarantine will stay in place, reports Vientiane Times.
Finally, a quick port call in Vietnam, where social restrictions are being stepped up in Ho Chi Minh City to battle a worsening outbreak.
Meanwhile, Kien Giang Province secured Politburo approval to begin vaccinating the 100,000 residents of the island of Phu Quoc in anticipation of a pilot reopening to vaccinated inbound tourists “by September or October.”
Australia, New Zealand & Fiji
Heading Down Under to Australia, residents of Melbourne breathed a sigh of relief as the city emerged from (another) lockdown on Friday. The prospects of taking an overseas vacation any time soon look slim, though, as Dan Tehan, Trade, Tourism & Investment Minister, said the government - which is facing an election in early 2022 - is in “no rush to open the borders” for international travel.
By 20 June, 6.56 million vaccine doses had been administered across Australia.
New Zealand’s vaccine programme was given a boost with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern receiving her first Pfizer jab on TV. The general rollout starts in late July, although vaccinating frontline workers is well underway.
Meanwhile, the PM confirmed that when New Zealand does reopen its borders, travellers will need to be fully vaccinated to enter the country.
Finally, as COVID-19 infections continue to increase in Fiji - where Australians and New Zealanders comprised 64% of inbound arrivals in 2019 - 43% of Fijians have received a 1st vaccine dose and 2.1% are fully vaccinated. More donated vaccines are being shipped from Australia.
Next Sunday sees the welcome return of Dr Jaeyeon Choe and Michelle Dy for Issue 4 of the Asia Pacific Travel & Tourism Report.
If you missed, the 3 previous editions, click to catch up here:
And, that’s a wrap for Issue 45.
Until next Sunday, you can find me on Twitter, LinkedIn, and the Asia Travel Re:Set website.
Have a great week,
Gary