SINGAPORE, 30 July 2021: The Asia Pacific region has gone from being the top dog in the travel and tourism sector to being put in the doghouse due to errors handling the pandemic, see-saw Covid19 case numbers and at times even complacency.
However, ForwardKeys, in a recent assessment, says a “few risk-taking destinations are daring to try some new approaches to compensate for the collateral loss of international arrivals.”
The report suggests there are still a few things travel partners in the region can do to keep a steady trickle of tourism dollars until the promised full recovery in 2024.
“The world has changed, like it or not. That means what you once knew is no longer valid, and past historical data is not useful,” says ForwardKeys director of APAC for Tourism & Hospitality Jameson Wong.
“Take this period as a time for reinvention as the data is pointing out that this is a glaringly obvious thing to do. We can count three clear examples where destinations can still seize new business if they act promptly, backed by data. Let’s examine Phuket, Jeju Island and the Maldives.”
Phuket Sandbox
What is surprising is the strength of the Israel market this summer in Phuket. For the first time, Israel, a relative newcomer, ties with the UK as the top source for Phuket in July-September, with Germany as the second biggest source. El Al started operating a daily direct flight from Tel Aviv to Phuket on 1 July.
“This shows the industry needs to look at other factors, beyond travel restrictions, that will shape travel decisions and change traditional market sources and segments. These factors include airline connectivity, currency and safety perceptions such as anti-Chinese sentiment,” says Wong.
Europe (including Israel) is the dominant source for Phuket this summer, accounting for 78% of issued tickets, followed by Americas at 12% and Africa/Middle East at 6% (see chart). In a reversal, Asia/Oceania is only 4% per cent, a significant drop from 59% in 2019, due to travel restrictions and/or quarantines upon return.
Jeju Island
The flight path between Seoul-Busan is the busiest route in the world (in terms of domestic travel). Not only are the urbanites from South Korea’s capital in a rush to escape to its nearest patch of paradise, but the passenger profile has changed too.
Seoul’s Incheon Airport has also seen an important shift in its relevance as a regional hub. In 2021 it doubles its share in connecting international travellers, up from 10% in 2019 to 20% in 2021, neck-to-neck with Singapore’s Changi Airport.
The Maldives
The Maldives is demonstrating that acting swiftly and making sage business decisions based on data can make a difference.
“It is with great contentment I note that the Russian market is now the top market in terms of arrivals to the destination since we had reopened our borders in July 2020,” says Visit Maldives, managing director Thoyyib Mohamed.
“Our marketing promotions in the past year has had an impact in increasing the demand for the destination, and also the increased connectivity has positively helped the boost in arrivals from Russia,” he adds.
By monitoring new source market opportunities, the tourism board acted swiftly by investing in digital marketing and advertising campaigns in Russia and have capitalized by welcoming not just luxury honeymooners rather affluent families.
Flight connectivity greatly assisted in the Maldives receiving such international travellers via Dubai Airport – which has stayed open throughout the pandemic.
Make early border announcements
ForwardKeys identifies a trend in Europe that that is worthwhile replicating across Asia. Well in advance of the popular summer season in Europe, Croatia and Greece announced in Q1 that they would be welcoming vaccinated international travellers from the US.
“And boom! Guess which source market was suddenly one of their top source markets?
“We even noticed a spike in first-class travel from NYC to Athens for the summer season,” adds ForwardKeys VP insights Olivier Ponti.
“Last-Minute bookings have become part of the New Normal. Gone are the days when one year in advance, holidaymakers would place a deposit on a trip abroad; it’s impossible to do so!
“When examining the ticketing data per each region: Asia Pacific, Europe, Africa, the Middle East and the Americas, each region demonstrates the habit of booking closest to departure.”
Visit www.forwardkeys.com
