Issue #75 - The A to Z of Pandemic Travel & Tourism in South East Asia
South East Asia's two-year path to recovery since the borders closed.
Welcome to issue 75 of Asia Travel Re:Set…
It’s been a strange week in South East Asia.
Russian tourists sought cryptocurrency and Chinese bankcard workarounds to pay their hotels bills in Thailand.
Vietnam flip-flopped on its reopening entry rules. Malaysia said it will reopen on 1 April without initially providing vital details.
All of this was backdropped by war, oil price fluctuations and the radiating global effects of sanctions.
Meanwhile, Friday (11 March) marked two years since the WHO declared a pandemic.
So today’s newsletter is an A to Z journey through 24 unprecedented months for travel and tourism in South East Asia.
Thanks for being onboard.
The Sunday Itinerary
- IN THE NEWS
Discussing the emerging impacts of oil, war and sanctions in South East Asia.
- The A to Z of Pandemic Travel & Tourism in South East Asia
South East Asia's two-year path to recovery since the borders closed.
- South East Asia Steps Up The Return of Travel
The travel landscape is patchy and bureaucratic - but improving!
“IN THE NEWS”
“South east Asia is right at the beginning of its reopening process, and it needs as many tourists as it can get, particularly without the Chinese market, that is the big overlay. The overall outlook is a lot gloomier than it looked a month ago.” I was interviewed by Nicola Smith of The Telegraph about war, oil, sanctions and travel.
The economic impacts of Russia's invasion of Ukraine are starting to bite in South East Asia. A few thoughts from me (and others) about the the impact of war, oil and sanctions on all areas of Cambodia's economy, including travel and tourism, for this article by Sangeetha Amarthalingam for The Phnom Penh Post.
The A to Z of Pandemic Travel & Tourism in South East Asia
AirAsia
South East Asia’s largest LCC endured a torrid 2 years, with its route networks silent and the AirAsia X brand close to the edge. Diversifying from airline ops, it renamed itself Capital A, and became a lifestyle services and tech investment SuperApp.
Bali Reopening
A global metaphor for South East Asia’s reopening struggles, Bali was originally scheduled to welcome back tourists on 11 September 2020. This was delayed until October 2021, but no flights arrived. Finally, it took effect in March 2022.
China-Laos Railway
Ordinarily, the December 2021 opening of a railway connecting China’s southwestern city of Kunming with the Laotian capital of Vientiane, on the Thailand border, would have drawn thousands of Chinese tourists. Not yet.
Delta Variant
A handful of ASEAN nations, notably Cambodia, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam, held at bay the early waves of COVID-19. The Delta Variant scythed through the region from mid-2021 onwards changing the political, economic and healthcare landscapes.
Extension Areas
Underscoring the semantic and administrative complications of the Phuket Sandbox, Thai tourism authorities opened up “Extension Areas.” These were handpicked islands that could also be visited once a quarantine period had been completed.
Forty-Seven Percent (Minus)
Two years after the region’s borders began to close, airline capacity in South East Asia was this week -47% of the level in the week of 4 March 2019 (5.27m seats vs 9.95m seats), according to OAG.
Green Travel Zone
Limited international marketing and air access have resulted in minimal coverage for Laos’s attempt to revive its tourism sector. Visitors from selected countries can apply for a Green Pass to travel through its Green Travel Zones and Green Travel Trails.
Hong Kong-Singapore Air Travel Bubble
Proposed to great fanfare in October 2020, this was the region’s first stab at bilateral quarantine-free travel in the pre-vaccinated era. The first take off in November 2020 failed, and a second aborted attempt May 2021 created a permanent puncture.
Islands
The launch of Thailand’s Phuket Sandbox, which included selected other Thai islands, influenced ASEAN nations to pilot tourism in offshore locations. Indonesia reopened Bali, Batam and Bintan, Malaysia tried Langkawi and Vietnam chose Phu Quoc.
Jet Fuel
A major inhibitor for the travel recovery in South East Asia and Asia Pacific will be the price of jet fuel. Last week it was up 14.7% in the region versus the previous week, and up 81.7% year-on-year, according to IATA. Europe was up 106.0% year on year.
Korean Wave
In 2019, South Korea was the third-largest provider of visitors to ASEAN (behind China and Singapore). Last summer, Korean tourists headed to Europe, but countries such as Vietnam, Malaysia and the Philippines will be promoting hard this year.
Langkawi International Travel Bubble
With travel bubbles largely removed from the region, Malaysia decided to designate one on the island of Langkawi. It’s a hybrid multilateral ‘bubble’, but hasn’t been very successful, drawing 4,600 visitors from 15 November 2021 to mid-February 2022.
Movement Control Order (MCO)
AKA ‘Lockdown,’ Malaysia’s MCO was a defining aspect of 2020 and the first two-thirds of 2021, when three long lockdowns were endured. The nation also experienced an 8-month ban on domestic travel from mid-January to mid-September 2021.
No Port Calls
A city-state with few options for domestic travel, Singapore forged the region’s best innovation of the pandemic: Cruises to Nowhere. Vaccinated passengers board luxury ships for 3-day voyages without port calls but with plenty of onboard entertainment.
Omicron
The latest variant stalled ASEAN’s stealth momentum in late 2021, stifling travel demand for Christmas and Lunar New Year. Now, with high vaccine rates and low hospitalisations, border reopening plans are going ahead despite high daily cases.
Phuket Sandbox
After months of inter-governmental wrangling, Thailand finally reopened the island of Phuket to vaccinated international (not domestic) tourists on 1 July 2021. The procedures were complex, the timing was all wrong and it wasn’t very popular.
Quarantine
Default government safety net for allowing travel by enforcing travellers to complete a ‘hard quarantine’ at a state facility or ‘home isolation.’ Mostly phased out in South East Asia now, with Malaysia bringing down its quarantine curtain on 1 April.
Restructuring
Fewer airlines perished than predicted. Some legacy carriers, like Philippine Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Thai Airways, and Garuda Indonesia, sought legal recourse to restructure, while Singapore Airlines raised huge funding to restructure its operations.
Special Tourist Visa
Thailand’s first attempt to restore tourism was the Special Tourist Visa in September 2020. A group of Chinese visitors were the first to arrive. Media showed them clad in PPE and waiting for their sterilised bus outside Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport.
Test & Go
Criticism of the Phuket Sandbox and sluggish arrivals forced Thailand to rethink. The Thailand Pass / Test & Go launched on 1 November 2021, and its ‘quarantine-free’ marketing has proved far more effective. Entry rules were recently streamlined.
Unvaccinated Travel
South East Asian governments make a clear distinction between vaccinated and boosted people and those unvaccinated, both domestically and (especially) regarding travel. Malaysia, for example, has set this out clearly for its reopening on 1 April.
Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL)
After flirting with travel bubbles, Singapore created the VTL scheme, which better suited the needs of Changi Airport and inbound/outbound travel. Flexible and scaleable, it has been a success, with a hope it is now expanding itself out of existence.
We Don’t Want Backpackers!
In November 2021, Indonesia’s Coordinating Minster said: “We will filter tourists that come visit. We don’t want backpackers to come so that Bali remains clean, where the people who come are of quality.” He quickly retracted the statement.
X-change Malaysia
Amid ongoing uncertainty about when Malaysia would reopen its borders, this national online travel seminar in January discussed ways to “Restore Malaysia’s business events sector onto the international map.” It was great fun, and well attended.
Yangon
In late 2020, discussions were underway to launch direct flights between Yangon, Myanmar and Colombo, Sri Lanka, plus perhaps India and Nepal. On 1 February 2021 army tanks rolled through the city of Yangon commencing the military’s bloody coup.
Zero COVID
One by one, Asia Pacific nations that sought to ‘eliminate’ COVID-19 have shelved the policy. It’s actually a misnomer. China and Hong Kong adopted a Zero Tolerance approach by stamping outbreaks at source, but neither achieved actual Zero COVID.
South East Asia Steps Up The Return of Travel
After 2 long years, South East Asia is stepping up the return of travel. Hurdles still exist, though. The travel landscape is patchy and bureaucratic, and travellers face avoidable administration burdens. Part 6 of The South East Asia Travel Show’s 8-part series, Two Years of Travel Disruption, takes a tour around the region to assess the current status of inbound, outbound & domestic travel in ASEAN’s key markets.
Listen here:
🎧 Website 🎧 Spotify 🎧 Apple
Or search for The South East Asia Travel Show on any podcast platform.
And, that’s a wrap for Issue 75.
This week, I’ll be in Penang shooting a video at the iconic E&O Hotel with filmmaker Nicky Almasy. Next Sunday’s newsletter will be a photographic diary of the project.
Until then, find me on Twitter, LinkedIn, the Asia Travel Re:Set website and The South East Asia Travel Show - which on Wednesday will discuss Vietnam’s reopening with Ho Chi Minh City-based Mike Tatarski.
Stay safe,
Gary