Travel industry takes the road to recovery(2)

Travel lane

More countries across Asia are also planning to reopen.

Singapore has gradually been doing so through its Vaccinated Travel Lane system, which allows visitors to enter without quarantine.

In Malaysia, Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said on Oct 22 that fully vaccinated foreign travelers would be allowed to visit the island of Langkawi from the middle of this month with no quarantine restrictions.

On Oct 14, Indonesia opened its doors to travelers from 19 countries visiting Bali and the Riau Islands. The archipelago also agreed with Malaysia on Nov 10 to launch a vaccinated travel lane between the two countries.

In Cambodia, where more than 87 percent of the population of nearly 17 million has been vaccinated against COVID-19, the government said on Oct 26 that the country would reopen in stages to fully vaccinated foreign tourists without quarantine. This plan will start with the coastal provinces of Sihanoukville and Koh Kong on Nov 30, and extended to Siem Reap, home to the Angkor Wat temple complex, in January.

Vietnam plans to reopen the resort island of Phu Quoc to vaccinated foreign visitors late this month. The country is also looking to restart international commercial flights with 15 countries from January, with a full resumption by July.

Sri Lanka, which has witnessed an easing of COVID-19 cases in recent weeks after facing a third wave since April caused by the Delta variant, is ready to reopen to foreign visitors in an attempt to strengthen its lucrative tourism industry.

The government will launch a special tourism promotion program in France, the United Kingdom, Germany, India and Russia, Sri Lankan Tourism Minister Prasanna Ranatunga said late last month.

Publicity campaigns will also be carried out in Kazakhstan, Ukraine and the Middle East to promote Sri Lanka as a country that has successfully administered COVID-19 vaccinations.

More than 90 percent of people age 20 and older in the island nation have been given at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.

The Global Wellness Institute ranked Sri Lanka fourth this year on a list of the world's top wellness tourism destinations, with Bali topping the list. The institute also rated Sri Lanka the leading destination for spiritual healing.

According to official figures, after Bandaranaike International Airport in Colombo reopened to tourists in December, more than 40,000 people have visited Sri Lanka, with over 13,000 arriving in September.

In Bangladesh, tourist destinations, which have posted losses of about $2.33 billion due to the pandemic, have been allowed to reopen at half capacity since Aug 19.

Jesper Palmqvist, area director for Asia Pacific at data and consulting company STR, said many countries in Asia are working to boost domestic tourism. Just how effective these plans are will depend on the size of the domestic markets and each country's need for international tourism.

For example, in Thailand, the number of foreign tourists plummeted to 6.7 million last year from a peak of nearly 40 million in 2019, taking a toll on the tourism sector, which accounted for about one-fifth of the nation's economy before the pandemic.

Quick response

Brendan Sobie, an independent aviation analyst and consultant based in Singapore, said airlines are quickly responding to the resumption of international travel in Asia Pacific. Carriers are resuming services suspended since the pandemic and aggressively promoting routes that have continued to operate despite limited demand and extremely low passenger numbers.

"There are opportunities, particularly in markets where quarantine-free travel is again possible, but the pace of recovery will be slow and overcapacity will be a concern for some time, impacting profitability," Sobie said. He added that a full recovery could take a few years and that in the meantime there will be setbacks.

Sobie said that to survive, many airlines will need to recapitalize and restructure.

Take Australia, for example. From April 2020 to last month, scheduled international passenger traffic fell by almost 98 percent, according to a report written by Sobie this month. The pandemic has so far cost Australian airlines some A$13 billion ($9.5 billion) in international revenue and also about 21 million passengers.

"While much of the region is finally starting to recover, several countries have not yet reopened and it could be several more months before international travel resumes across all markets in Asia Pacific," Sobie said, adding that the crisis is far from over.

Palmqvist, from STR, does not expect international tourism to return to pre-pandemic levels at least until 2024.

"There are so many things dragging it down, from both demand and pricing power and all those travel regulations in place," he said.

Barnett, from C9 Hotelworks, said: "Thailand has a first-mover advantage. The country will be more competitive than others in the region, but there will still be challenges. The government has to make the procedures as convenient for travel as possible."

He added that better planning and more advance information is needed when rules or procedures are changed.

The biggest challenge for hotels is getting staff members back to work and providing services that meet the expectations of travelers during the pandemic, Barnett said.

Khoo, from MasterConsult Services, said the first few years of reopening will be a determining factor, as the extent of the change in consumer behavior remains unclear. "The post-COVID world will be challenging," he added.

Suchira, the Thai tour guide, said that as the travel industry's recovery will be slow, she remains cautious, but has rising hopes for improved business.

It all depends on the COVID situation, she said, adding that the industry may not return to pre-pandemic levels anytime soon, if at all.