Issue #94 - All This Happened in Asia Pacific Travel & Tourism This Week!
Another eventful 7 days from China, Japan & Fiji to Australia, Indonesia & Vietnam
Happy Mid-Autumn Festival weekend.
It is Asia Travel Re:Set’s 2nd anniversary - so grateful thanks to everyone who has read the newsletter over the past 93 issues, and welcome to all new subscribers.
This seems an appropriate time to reassess some of the questions around the coveted (eventual) return of Chinese tourists to the region.
On The South East Asia Travel Show (see below), we addressed how ‘Dynamic Covid-Zero’ has impacted China’s travel industry over the past 32 months - and how Chinese airlines, OTAs and hotels, plus brands and consumers, are responding.
Plus, check out the China Travel Market Report 2021-2025, which I researched and wrote for Phocuswright.
Thanks for being onboard.
The Sunday Itinerary
- “IN THE NEWS”
- All This Happened in Asia Pacific Travel & Tourism This Week!
An eventful 7 days from China, Japan & Fiji to Australia, Indonesia & Vietnam
- When Will Chinese Tourists Return - And What’s Changed?
A close-up look at the current landscape for outbound, domestic & inbound travel
“IN THE NEWS”
I was interviewed by Zili Wang of Chinese business and economics publication Caixin for this article assessing the recovery of tourism in Asia Pacific, and the ongoing absence of Chinese tourists. (Paywalled - message me for the Chinese-language pdf).
Plans to connect China and South East Asia by rail have been under discussion for years, but momentum appears to be gathering. And ASEAN’s first high-speed railway is on track. I mapped out the prospective landscape for the Asia Media Centre.
All This Happened in APAC Travel & Tourism This Week
A regional round-up from China, Japan & Fiji to Australia, Indonesia & Vietnam
Let’s begin in China, where Dynamic Covid-Zero is stepping up. From 10 September until 31 October, testing is being “normalised” nationwide. This period includes the Mid-Autumn Festival, the week-long National Day holiday at the start of October and the 20th Party Congress in Beijing, which starts on 16 October. Inter-provincial travellers must get tested at airports, train and bus stations and highway exits.
Gradual Reopenings
Entry rules. Visa delays. Few direct flights. Absence of Chinese tourists. Quarantine for Taiwanese visitors returning home. These are 5 key challenges for Japan as it slowly rebuilds its tourism economy, notes this detailed analysis by The Asahi Shimbun. Also worth reading is this perspective from The Mainichi. In Japan’s favour are strong pent-up demand from across the region and a weak Yen. This week, Japan raised its 7-day visitor arrivals cap from 20,000 to 50,000, and removed PCR testing for visitors.
On Monday (12 Sept), Taiwan will reopen its airport gates to visitors from 50 nations (visa-free) for stays of up to 90 days, and 12 nations for up to 30 days. (Full country list / entry rules here). The “3+4” 7-day quarantine/disease self-prevention policy remains. A weekly cap of 50,000 visitors is in place, and group tours are not yet permitted.
New York LCC Listing
Two intriguing comments from Tony Fernandes, CEO of Capital A. Firstly, a planned listing in New York for AirAsia Aviation Group (comprising its LCCs in Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand & Indonesia). Secondly, AirAsia is now operating 110 of its 205 planes, and hopes all will be flying “in the first quarter of 2023.” In this context, it’s worth noting AirAsia operated flights to more than 20 Chinese cities pre-pandemic. He is quoted as saying China “might gradually open by the middle of next year.”
Jet Fuel Volatility
Air travellers continue to reel at high fares. The jet fuel price, though – Asia & Oceania accounts for 22% of global demand - is (for now) dropping. Jet fuel is currently up 71% from a year ago. This is a notable dip from the 110+% year-on-year level a few months ago. Volatility remains, as this peaks-and-troughs graph illustrates.
Australia’s national carrier Qantas will delay restoring its Sydney-Hong Kong service until the end of January 2023, reports Executive Traveller. South China Morning Post notes (quoting Cirium data) “at least 45 airlines are no longer flying to HKIA.”
Hotel Rate Rise
Singapore reported in July its highest average room rate since September 2012. The average price of a hotel room increased by 7.7% from June, to SGD259.
Thailand is less specific, reporting its hotel occupancy rate (which fell to 6% during the pandemic) reached 48% in August. A joint survey by the Bank of Thailand and Thai Hotels Association raises red flags, though: “About 60% [of hotel] operators worry about falling purchasing power and lower-than-expected tourist arrivals.”
A Bridge Over the Malacca Straits?
Still in South East Asia, will Malaysia and Indonesia become physically conjoined? A long-mooted plan to build a connective “tunnel or bridge” was reported by Malaysian media this week. At least 2 decades away, the project would be developed under China’s Belt and Road infrastructure programme to link the closest points of the 2 countries - Southwest Malaysia and East Sumatra, a distance of approx. 120km.
Next to Fiji, where tourism accounts for 40% of GDP, Economy Minister Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum said this week. Driven by visitors from Australia and New Zealand, Fiji - which reopened for tourism on 1 December 2021 - expects to reach 55% of 2019 arrivals by the end of 2022.
Taekwondo Tourism
Today’s penultimate stopover is South Korea. Seoul’s tourism authorities have made impressive mileage from the global appeal of K-pop culture. So, what next? Well, 4 September was National Taekwondo Day, so how about Taekwondo Tourism? Better still, combining the “martial art with various other performing arts including acrobatic moves and K-pop dances.”
And Finally…
… Some poetic levity from Vietnam, which claims to have opened “South East Asia’s largest musical fountain.” The 160-metre cascade of automated dancing water, lights and music is located on Ho Chi Minh City’s “Canal of Love”.
When Will Chinese Tourists Return - And What’s Changed?
When will Chinese tourists return to Asia Pacific - and what has changed in China in the interim? These are questions that all destinations and travel operators are asking. On this week’s The South East Asia Travel Show, we take a close-up look at the current landscape for domestic, inbound and outbound travel.
What have been the impacts of Dynamic Covid-Zero on Chinese airlines, OTAs and hotels?
What are some of China’s domestic travel and consumer trends that have emerged during the pandemic?
What is ‘branded glamping’?
How have OTAs and hotels invested in intelligent and interactive technologies?
And which demographics could drive the next wave of Chinese tourism?
Listen to When Will Chinese Travellers Return - And What’s Changed?, here:
🎧 Website 🎧 Spotify 🎧 Apple Podcasts
Or search for The South East Asia Travel Show on any podcast platform.
And, that’s a wrap for Issue 94.
The newsletter (which is published every 2 weeks) will return on 25 September.
Until then, find me on Twitter, LinkedIn, the Asia Travel Re:Set website and The South East Asia Travel Show .
Happy travels,
Gary