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Tourism recoups 60% of pre-pandemic levels

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TTR WEEKLY
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SINGAPORE, 27 September 2022: International tourism continued to show strong signs of recovery, with arrivals reaching 57% of pre-pandemic levels in the first seven months of 2022, according to the latest UNWTO World Tourism Barometer.

International tourist arrivals almost tripled in January to July 2022 (+172%) compared to the same period of 2021. That means the sector recovered almost 60% of pre-pandemic levels. The steady recovery reflects strong demand for international travel and the easing or lifting of travel restrictions to date (86 countries had no Covid-19 related restrictions as of 19 September 2022).

UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili said: “Tourism continues to recover steadily, yet several challenges remain, from geopolitical to economic. The sector is bringing back hope and opportunity for people everywhere. Now is also the time to rethink tourism, where it is going and how it impacts people and the planet.”

Time to rethink tourism

An estimated 474 million tourists travelled internationally, compared to the 175 million in the same months of 2021. An estimated 207 million international arrivals were recorded in June and July 2022 combined, over twice the numbers seen in the same two months last year. These months represent 44% of the total arrivals recorded in the first seven months of 2022. Europe welcomed 309 million of these arrivals, accounting for 65% of the total.

Leaders: Europe and the Middle East

Europe and the Middle East showed the fastest recovery in January-July 2022, with arrivals reaching 74% and 76% of 2019, respectively. Europe welcomed almost three times as many international arrivals as in the first seven months of 2021 (+190%), with results boosted by strong intra-regional demand and travel from the United States. The region saw robust performance in June (-21% over 2019) and July (-16%), reflecting a busy summer.

Arrivals climbed to about 85% of 2019 levels in July. The lifting of travel restrictions in many destinations also fuelled these results (44 countries in Europe had no Covid-19 related restrictions as of 19 September 2022).

The Middle East saw international arrivals grow almost four times year-on-year in January-July 2022 (+287%). Arrivals exceeded pre-pandemic levels in July (+3%), boosted by the extraordinary results posted by Saudi Arabia (+121%) following the Hajj pilgrimage.

The Americas (+103%) and Africa (+171%) also recorded strong growth in January-July 2022 compared to 2021, reaching 65% and 60% of 2019 levels, respectively.

Asia and the Pacific (+165%) saw arrivals more than double in the first seven months of 2022. They remained 86% below 2019 levels, as some borders remained closed to non-essential travel.

Subregions and destinations

Several subregions reached 70% to 85% of their pre-pandemic arrivals in January-July 2022. Southern Mediterranean Europe (-15% over 2019), the Caribbean (-18%) and Central America (-20%) showed the fastest recovery towards 2019 levels. Western Europe (-26%) and Northern Europe (-27%) also posted strong results. In July, arrivals came close to pre-pandemic levels in the Caribbean (-5%), Southern and Mediterranean Europe (-6%) and Central America (-8%).

Tourism Experts Cautiously Confident

On a scale of 0 to 200, the UNWTO Panel of Tourism Experts rated the period May-August 2022 with a score of 125, matching the bullish expectations expressed by the Panel in the May survey for the same 4-month period (124).

Prospects for the remainder of the year are cautiously optimistic. Although above-average performance is expected, tourism experts rated the period September-December 2022 with a score of 111, below the 125 scores of the previous four months, showing a downgrade in confidence levels. Almost half of the experts (47%) see positive prospects for the period September-December 2022, while 24% expect no particular change, and 28% consider it could be worse. Experts also seem confident about 2023, as 65% see better tourism performance than in 2022.

The uncertain economic environment seems to have reversed prospects for a return to pre-pandemic levels in the near term. Some 61% of experts now see a potential return of international arrivals to 2019 levels in 2024 or later, while those indicating a return to pre-pandemic levels in 2023 have diminished (27%) compared to the May survey (48%).

According to experts, the economic environment continues to be the main factor weighing the recovery of international tourism. Rising inflation and the spike in oil prices result in higher transport and accommodation costs while putting consumer purchasing power and savings under pressure.

Indian travel agents explore Sabah

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TTR WEEKLY
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KOTA KINABALU, 27 September 2022: Thirty-two travel agents from India are visiting Sabah to explore the state’s potential as a new tourist destination catering to the Indian market.

The group is among 543 members of the Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI) who recently attended the TAFI conference in Kuching, Sarawak.

Arriving last Friday, the group is led by Western India Chapter of TAFI chairman Jitul Mehta who booked the post-conference excursion to Sabah to become more familiar with the region and its product offerings.

Assistant Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment cum Sabah Tourism Board (STB) chairman Datuk Joniston Bangkuai said the group’s visit supports the Board’s continued goal of introducing Sabah to the Indian market as a new and hidden gem of Malaysia.

He stated there had been an upward tendency of Indian arrivals to Sabah before the Covid-19 pandemic, with 5,606 Indian visitors registered in 2018 and 6,548 recorded the following year.

“We have observed that Indian tourists love our beaches, islands, resorts, diving, wildlife, and cultures. Sabah was also quite a hit as a wedding venue for Indian couples pre-Covid,” he told the delegates during a dinner hosted by STB.

“We want this situation to return and to re-capture our potential Indian guests. In addition, we hope to welcome Indian filmmakers too as our destination is already well sought after for documentaries,” he added.

On aviation accessibility, Joniston said Indian tourists could travel to Sabah via Singapore with 14 flights weekly to Kota Kinabalu, and via Kuala Lumpur, with 230 weekly connecting flights to Kota Kinabalu.

“We at the Sabah Tourism Board want to work closely with tour agents and airlines to expand indirect passenger traffic to Sabah, and who knows, with enough Indian arrivals, we might be able to schedule direct flights from India one day,” he added.

Meanwhile, Mehta was hopeful that the group’s four-day tour to Sabah would be informative and enlightening for its members who had previously only heard or read about the state.

“We are optimistic that we could bring more Indian tourists to Sabah, and perhaps, by working together, we might make direct flights a reality,” he said.

For more information visit: www.sabahtourism.com.

(Your Stories: Sabah Tourism Board).

No China flights in TG’s winter schedule

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TTR WEEKLY
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BANGKOK, 26 September 2022: Thai Airways International confirmed that its winter flight schedule from 30 October 2022 to  25 March 2023 will offer flights to 34 destinations in Europe, Australia and Asia,

The number of destinations served is the same as the summer timetable from 27 March to 29 October 2022.

In Asia, the airline serves six destinations in Japan, including Narita and Haneda Tokyo. No flights are listed to mainland China based on the current travel restrictions in China regarding inbound international travel. In contrast, THAI will serve six destinations in India, matching the number of destinations it serves in Japan. All of the airline’s services to Mekong region cities in Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam have been transferred to THAI Smile, which operates a fleet of A320s.

Intercontinental routes (return flights):

1. Bangkok-London: twice daily flights.

2. Bangkok-Paris: daily flight.

3. Bangkok-Zurich: daily flight.

4. Bangkok-Frankfurt: twice daily flights.

5. Bangkok-Munich: daily flight.

6. Bangkok-Copenhagen: daily flight.

7. Bangkok-Stockholm: 5 flights per week from Bangkok on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday,  Friday and Sunday (*increased to daily from 1 December 2022).

8. Bangkok-Sydney: daily flight.

9. Bangkok-Melbourne: daily flight.

Regional routes (return flights):

1. Bangkok-Tokyo (Narita): twice daily flights.

2. Bangkok-Tokyo (Haneda): daily flight.

3. Bangkok-Nagoya: daily flight.

4. Bangkok-Osaka: daily flight.

5. Bangkok-Fukuoka: daily flight.

6. Bangkok-Sapporo: daily flight. (*starting 1 December 2022)

7. Bangkok-Manila: twice daily flights.

8. Bangkok-Seoul: triple daily flights.

9. Bangkok-Taipei: daily flights. (*increased to twice daily from 14 January 2023)

10. Bangkok-Hong Kong: twice daily flights.

11. Bangkok-Singapore: triple daily flights.

12. Bangkok-Jakarta: twice daily flights.

13. Bangkok-Denpasar: daily flight.

14. Bangkok-Kuala Lumpur: twice daily flights.

15. Bangkok-Kolkata: daily flight. (*starting 1 January 2023)

16. Bangkok-Chennai: daily flight.

17. Bangkok-Hyderabad: daily flight.

18. Bangkok-Bengaluru: daily flight.

19. Bangkok-New Delhi: every day, 22 flights per week (*Flight TG335 departs from Bangkok on Friday)

20. Bangkok-Mumbai: daily flight. (*increased to 11 flights per week from 1 January 2023)

21. Bangkok-Dhaka: every day, 10 flights per week (*Flight TG339 departs from Bangkok every Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday)

22. Bangkok-Lahore: 5 flights per week from Bangkok on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday

23. Bangkok-Islamabad: 4 flights per week from Bangkok on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday

24. Bangkok-Karachi: daily flight.

25. Bangkok-Jeddah: 4 flights per week from Bangkok on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday (*increased to daily from 1 January 2023)

Hong Kong scraps hotel quarantine

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TTR WEEKLY
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HONG KONG, 26 September 2022: Hong Kong’s travel industry welcomed last week’s announcement that ends its Covid-19 hotel quarantine policy starting today.

Under the revised rules, all international arrivals will be able to return home or to the accommodation of their choice but will have to self-monitor for three days after entering the Chinese special administrative territory, the government said on Friday.

“We are aiming in one single direction of allowing people to come with more convenience and they are allowed to go about their activities with maximum possibilities,” Chief Executive John Lee told the press briefing.

People will be allowed to go to work or school but will not be allowed to enter bars or restaurants for three days. A pre-flight PCR test required for travellers to Hong Kong 48 hours before flying will be replaced by a Rapid Antigen Test.

Business groups had slammed the city’s strict Covid-19 rules, saying they threatened Hong Kong’s competitiveness. International arrivals had to spend three days in a self-paid hotel followed by four days of self-monitoring, allowing them to move around the city.

In a statement released at the weekend, Cathay Pacific said it welcomed the Hong Kong SAR Government’s latest measures to facilitate travel to Hong Kong, especially the decision to remove the hotel quarantine arrangement for passengers arriving in Hong Kong effective 26 September 2022.

“These adjustments will help boost sentiment for travel, thereby facilitating the gradual resumption of travel activities and strengthening network connectivity to, from and through the Hong Kong aviation hub.

“We intend to add more than 200 pairs of passenger flights in October to both regional and long-haul destinations. Given Japan’s relaxation of travel restrictions for inbound visitors, Cathay Pacific will resume daily flights to Tokyo (Haneda) from 1 November and four-times-weekly flights to Sapporo from 1 December. We will also increase flight frequencies to Tokyo (Narita) to 43 pairs and Osaka to 50 pairs in October.”

Airport Authority Hong Kong commented: “AAHK looks forward to the continued air traffic recovery. We are working closely with the airport community to prepare for the expected increase in flights and passengers.”

Thailand scraps emergency decree

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TTR WEEKLY
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BANGKOK, 26 September 2022: Thailand will phase out its public health emergency decrees on 30 September as it downgrades the Covid-19 classification from “a dangerous communicable disease” to “a communicable disease under surveillance”.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, the country renewed the emergency degree 19 times which gave Thailand’s Centre of Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) sweeping powers to battle the virus since March 2022.

(Photo Credit: TAT Newsroom)

Starting from 1 October 2022, international travellers to Thailand will no longer need to show proof of vaccination or ATK test results.

CCSA will be automatically dissolved, and all the regulations, announcements, and orders issued by the Prime Minister and the Cabinet under the decree be revoked.

Since the pandemic, Thailand has gradually reopened to international tourism starting in July 2021 with the Phuket Sandbox, Samui Plus, and 7+7 Extension programmes. This was followed by a four-phase reopening timeline from October 2021 to January 2022.

Thailand entered the stage of fully reopening from 1 July 2022, with the removal of the Thailand Pass registration scheme, and foreign nationals only be required to show proof of vaccination or a negative ATK test result within 72 hours of travel. Those two requirements will be lifted for travellers entering the country from 1 October onwards.

In addition, the cabinet recently approved extending the period of stay to 45 days (from 30 days) for tourists from countries eligible for visa exemption. Travellers eligible for a visa-on-arrival will get 30 days (up from 15 days). The concession runs from 1 October 2022 until 31 March 2023.

(Source: TAT Newsroom)

TAT Newsroom updates are released once the official directives have been announced in the Royal Gazette.

Emirates wins three Skytrax awards

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TTR WEEKLY
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02.09.22 Thomas Ney,Divisional Senior Vice President Service Delivery - Emirates, receives a World's Best Economy Class Catering award at The StarTrax Awards, The Langham Hotel, London. Photo credit: Simon Jacobs/PinPep

DUBAI, 26 September 2022: Emirates has taken home three awards at the Skytrax World Airline Awards 2022, including World’s Best Economy Class, World’s Best Economy Class Catering, and for the 17th consecutive time, World’s Best Inflight Entertainment. 

The awards are a testament to the airline’s commitment to offering the best customer experience in the sky, where travellers in Economy Class can look forward to spacious cabins, carefully crafted menus, an unmatched range of in-flight entertainment choices, thoughtful amenities like kids toys, and much more.

When cost-cutting has become the norm, the airline is making long-term investments to elevate further its product and service strategy in every cabin class.

This latest recognition from Skytrax comes on the heels of the airline’s recent announcement that it is investing over US$ 2 billion to enhance its inflight customer experience. This includes one of the largest retrofit projects in aviation history, spanning 120 aircraft, which will soon sport the airline’s latest interior concepts, a new hospitality-focused service delivery model, and best-in-class product enhancements across all cabins this year. Emirates will also be investing over USD350 million in next-generation inflight entertainment systems with Thales for passengers to experience the airline’s massive library of 5,000 channels on high-definition screens, along with a host of other high-tech features on its incoming fleet of A350 aircraft.

For more information visit www.emirates.com

(Your Stories: Emirates)

UA goes double daily to Singapore

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TTR WEEKLY
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SINGAPORE, 26 September 2022: United Airlines will resume a second daily nonstop flight between Singapore (SIN) and San Francisco (SFO), effective 29 October.

The airline resumed in initial daily service in January 2022.

The newly-introduced schedule between Singapore and San Francisco offers customers an evening departure from Singapore with an evening arrival in San Francisco and a morning departure from San Francisco with an evening arrival in Singapore.

The new frequency will enable United to offer nearly 20 additional one-stop connections to Singapore from destinations throughout North America. Customers in Singapore have access to almost 80 cities throughout the US, including major business markets like New York, Boston, Philadelphia, and Dallas, via its hub in San Francisco.

In addition, United and Singapore Airlines expanded codeshare arrangements in April 2022 to provide more options and value to customers, making it easier for them to travel to more cities in the US, Southeast Asia, and other destinations in the Asia-Pacific region than before.

United Airlines director of sales for Greater China, Korea and Southeast Asia Walter Dias said: “To meet the increasing customer demand, we’ve decided to resume our twice-daily service, which can provide our customers with greater choices and more options between Singapore and San Francisco and beyond with optimal departure and arrival times. Singapore is an important business and leisure destination for United, and we remain committed to serving the Singapore market.”

The following is the new twice-daily SIN-SFO schedule:

Flight No.

Departure Airport

Arrival Airport

 

Eff. Date

Departure Time

Arrival Time

UA2

SIN

SFO

Existing

10:15

09:50

UA28

SIN

SFO

New

30 October

22:20

22:00

UA29

SFO

SIN

New

29 October

11:40

20:15 +1

UA1

SFO

SIN

Existing

22:45

07:00 +2

Japan’s flight searches soar

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TTR WEEKLY
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SINGAPORE, 26 September 2022: Expedia reports Japan flight searches doubled following Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s announcement last week that confirms Covid-19 border restrictions will end on 11 October.

According to the PM, Japan will allow individual visitors to enter the country, reinstate visa waivers and end the cap on daily arrivals. It represents a significant policy shift in border controls linked to curbing the spread of Covid-19.

Japan reopened its borders to tourists on guided tours to enter last June, but tourists on nonguided tours still had to book through a registered travel agency. As of 11 October, travellers can book their holidays online without using a registered travel agency.

Japan removed the mandatory pre-arrival PCR tests for fully vaccinated travellers in September.

The new guidelines will open doors to tourists as long as they have been vaccinated three times or submit a negative COVID-19 test ahead of their trip, Kyodo News reported.

Commenting on the announcement, Expedia Group’s head of public relations Asia, Lavinia Rajaram said: “Search demand for travel to Japan on Expedia doubled following Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s announcement to relax border control measures.”

Flight searches to Japan on Expedia almost doubled (+90%) on the day of the announcement (22 September) compared to the last 14-day (8 to 21 September) average. Search demand for hotels in Japan saw an 85% increase on the day of the announcement, compared to the last 14-day (8 to 21 September) average.

For the upcoming year-end holiday season (November – December 2022), intra-Asia destinations are trending strongly, with seven out of the top searched cities found to be within Asia*.

“The reopening of Japan, and easing of quarantine measures in Taiwan position Asia as a strong aviation hub, with Tokyo and Taipei, now reopening as international corridors for long haul flights from the US and across Asia,” said Rajaram.

* Based on flight search data on Expedia.com.sg for trips in November to December.

The top 10 destinations for the year-end holidays

  1. Bangkok, Thailand
  2. Seoul, South Korea
  3. Bali, Indonesia
  4. Phuket, Thailand
  5. London, United Kingdom
  6. Paris, France
  7. Maldives
  8. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  9. Tokyo, Japan
  10. Johor Bahru, Malaysia

(Source: Expedia)

Sarawak roadshow visits Germany

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TTR WEEKLY
-

ULM, Germany, 26 September 2022: Sarawak Tourism Board (STB) has just concluded its roadshow tour in Germany to promote Sarawak in four major cities; Freiburg, Stuttgart, Ulm and Regensburg.

Scheduled from 19 to 24 September, the roadshow was hosted in collaboration with Tischler Reisen AG, a local wholesale agent that has extensive experience with the German market for more than 45 years in handling large tourist groups and creative long-distance travel offers.

In attendance at the roadshow were eight tourism players from several countries, including the Ministry of Heritage & Tourism Oman, Bahrain Tourism, Abu Dhabi, Anantara Iko Mauritius, Beachcomber, Tourism Shizouka, Herget Representation & Networking GmbH and Thailand Tourism. Some players had their representatives present, including Tourism Oman represented by Gulf Air in the Frankfurt office and Tourism Shizouka.

The programme included presentations for travel trade partners in Germany and a networking session about current tourism product updates in Sarawak. The roadshow with Tischler Reisen AG marked the first in-person event for STB in Europe since the pandemic.

Speaking at the event, STB’s assistant manager for Europe and Oceania market, Pauline Lim stated: “We feel glad to be closer to our industry partners to highlight Sarawak tourism experience and to talk about the new updates from Sarawak and other key attractions to over 100 travel trade partners in Germany. We anticipate a good season in the coming years in Sarawak, together with the increased airlifts, in what we call Sarawak has more to discover”.

Before the pandemic, Sarawak recorded more than 6,500 visitors from Germany in 2019. During the pandemic years, the number of visitors from European countries dropped tremendously but has shown an increase since May this year.

STB, during the event, presented its five key pillars in tourism attractions; Culture, Adventure, Nature, Food and Festival (CANFF), highlighting longhouse experience, adventure caving in Mulu UNESCO sites, wildlife experience in Bako National Park, cycling adventure as well as leisure activities in the Old Kuching Smart Heritage sites. Those are among the top interest of the German market.

For more information, visit: www.sarawaktourism.com

(Your Stories: Sarawak Tourism Board)

CX moves forward on SAF target

By
TTR WEEKLY
-

HONG KONG, 22 September 2022: Cathay Pacific has signed an offtake agreement with Aemetis to supply 38 million US gallons of blended Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) to be delivered over seven years in 2025 from San Francisco International Airport.

The SAF purchased can reduce more than 80,000 tonnes of lifecycle carbon emissions, equivalent to the amount of carbon sequestered by more than 1.3 million tree seedlings grown for 10 years.

The agreement is also part of the joint procurement initiative for SAF by the Oneworld alliance, of which Cathay Pacific is a founding member.  

Cathay Pacific chief executive officer Augustus Tang said: “Cathay Pacific continues to reaffirm its commitment to addressing climate change despite these challenging times. In the past few years, we have announced our carbon net-zero by 2050 target and our goal of achieving 10% use of SAF by 2030. In doing this, we have built a robust SAF procurement strategy to help meet our goals. We are pleased that this agreement with Aemetis will contribute to that effort, and we hope it will also send the right signal to the SAF industry to encourage the much-needed investment and to scale up of its supply chain.”

The blended SAF to be supplied under this agreement is 40% SAF and 60% Petroleum Jet A-1 fuel to meet international blending standards.

The SAF will be produced at the Aemetis Carbon Zero plant currently under development in Riverbank, California. The facility will use waste wood to produce cellulosic hydrogen and combine it with wastes and non-edible sustainable oils. It will then be converted into SAF using carbon-neutral hydroelectricity. It is scheduled to begin deliveries to Cathay Pacific in 2025.

SAF provides significant environmental benefits compared to petroleum jet fuel, including up to 100% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions on a lifecycle basis, depending on the technology used. It is a vital solution in the decarbonisation of aviation over the next few decades, especially for long-haul flights.

For more information on Cathay Pacific’s Sustainable Development initiatives, visit: https://sustainability.cathaypacific.com/

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