Tourism reopens in Asia but the Chinese windfall remains at home

The progressive relaxation in Asia of health restrictions on the borders allows tourism players to hope to see travelers from all over the world come back little by little.Except for the Chinese.

China, which had become in 2012 the largest first emitting market on the global tourist scene, today displays international air traffic equivalent to only 2% of pre-countryic levels and maintains strict health measures on online travel withits zero tolerance policy vis-à-vis the COVVI-19.

This situation deprives the global tourism market of some $ 255 billion in annual revenue, a shortfall that establishments such as Laguna Phuket in Thailand will have to endeavor to fill in the medium term at least.

The director general of Laguna Phuket, Ravi Chandran, indicates that the five hotel complexes of Laguna Phuket moved their marketing goal to Europe, the United States and the United Arab Emirates to compensate for the loss of Chinese visitors, who represented 25 to30 % of its activity before the COVID crisis.

""""Until today, we have not done marketing or significant promotion in China (…) because we feel nothing coming,"""" explains Ravi Chandran.

China closed until the second trimester 2022

The pandemic costs Thailand about $ 50 billion a year in tourist recipes.According to data from the Thai tourism ministry, Chinese spending was above average.

Thailand awaits 100.000 to 180.000 foreign tourists this year -the Thai chamber of commerce table table on more than 600.000-, a fraction of the 40 million visitors she received in 2019, while she raised Monday compulsory for vaccinated travelers from more than 60 countries.

But many experts agree that China should probably maintain strict measures such as forty three weeks for any traveler from outside until the second trimester at least 2022, before gradually releasing these restrictions according toThe situation of each country of origin.

""""Destinations must identify new sources markets and learn to market and meet the expectations of different cultures,"""" said Liz Ortiguera, CEO of the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), citing the Maldives as a rare example of successful adaptation duringthe pandemic.

The Indian Ocean Archipelago made an intense promotion in professional fairs and significantly increased the share of Russian and Indian tourists in its luxury hotel complexes to replace the Chinese who represented the main source of visitors before the pandemic.

Tourism Evolution in China

According to Forwardkeys, a company specializing in travel statistics, it will take until 2025 for Chinese tourism abroad to return to pre-Pandemic levels.This will also force airlines to readjust their routes - 38% of Chinese tourists borrowed foreign carriers in 2019 still according to Forwardkeys data.Even if Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia Bali are gradually opening up to international travelers, the companies Thai Airways and Garuda Indonesia considerably reduce their fleet as part of restructuring plans in the absence of Chinese tourists.

And even when China will reopen its borders, several studies of professionals in the sector reveal that many Chinese will be reluctant to travel abroad for fear of COVVI-19.

In parallel, we observe a boom of domestic holidays on the island of Hainan, in the southwest of the country, which now offers outdated products, which competes for the usual shopping destinations such as Hong Kong and South Korea.

""""Honestly, I don't have much enthusiasm for international travel,"""" said Kat Qi, 29, a Beijing researcher who had already traveled to Southeast Asia and Great Britain before the Pandemic.""""Many places I wanted to visit are in less developed countries with magnificent natural landscapes but they happen to be among the least vaccinated countries.""""

No more Chinese hordes on a trip organized

The preference of the young woman for natural landscapes is also part of a new trend that emerges from surveys carried out with Chinese travelers.Many are turning on the outdoors, while camping holidays are increasingly popular, and tourism professionals will have to adapt accordingly, say the experts.

""""Le marché aura changé, les Chinois voyageant en 2022 seront donc différents des Chinois voyageant en 2019"""", affirme Wolfgang Georg Arlt, PDG de l'Institut de recherche sur le tourisme de Chine. """"Je pense que les tendances vont s'éloigner des habituelles course au shopping et frénésie de la carte postale.""""

The trips organized in large groups should also belong to the past - we already observe that they have fallen in disgrace in domestic tourism - and they should be replaced by individual trips and personalized circuits in a limited committee with the familyAnd friends, estimates Sienna parulis-cook, director of marketing and communications at Dragon Tail International, consulting company.

""""Vous aurez sans doute des voyages organisés avec tout le tremblement, mais ce sera avec un petit groupe de personnes que vous connaissez, plutôt que 50 étrangers entassés dans un bus de voyage"""", dit-elle.

500 million Chinese tourists in 5 years

Anyway, if in the medium term it will be obviously necessary to do without Chinese tourists, professionals know well that China will inevitably resume its main source of travelers sooner or later.

""""Avant le Covid-19, la Thaïlande accueillait 13 millions de visiteurs chinois sur à peu près 200 millions de voyageurs chinois annuels"""", rappelle Patrick Basset, directeur général opérationnel Asie du Sud-Est & Nord-Est et Maldives du groupe AccorHotels.

""""In 5 years, they will be more than 500 million to travel abroad and one of the first destinations they want to know is Thailand. Il y a donc un potentiel énorme et je ne parle même pas de l’Inde!"""", souligne le Français qui estime que d’ici 15 à 20 ans, la Thaïlande pourrait accueillir 70 à 80 millions de touristes par an.