Better days ahead for travel, tourism

It looks like 2022 will be a good year for travel and tourism.

A recent article from dotproperty.com.ph revealed that flight bookings to destinations across Southeast Asia are increasing after several countries have loosened restrictions on inbound arrivals.

But while numbers are still below pre-pandemic levels, online travel company Skyscanner is seeing a noticeable jump in people making plans to go overseas.

Skyscanner disclosed that flight bookings made by travelers based in Great Britain, the US, and Germany increased by 19 and 300 percent when comparing December 2021 and January 2022. That, as countries like Thailand and the Philippines rolled out plans to welcome vaccinated visitors.

Reuters quoted Skyscanner senior regional director for the Asia Pacific Paul Whiteway as saying that from the company’s global footprint, they have seen that when restrictions ease, travellers react and are willing to adapt to new measures in order to be able to travel internationally again.

He said that over the coming weeks, markets could be seen reacting to the new measures, and airlines are announcing new schedules and building capacities to allow the return of international travel at scale.

DotProperty noted that Thailand, the Philippines, Singapore and Indonesia have reopened to vaccinated travellers, which has contributed to the increase in flight bookings. Thailand allows tourists to enter the country quarantine-free assuming they follow certain guidelines, while in the Philippines, arrivals are being welcomed back for the first time in nearly two years as travellers are required to just present a recent negative COVID-19 test, along with proof that they are fully vaccinated to be allowed to enter and just like Thailand, without the previous facility-based quarantine requirement.

Singapore has established vaccinated travel lanes with 21 countries that allow for quarantine-free visits, while Bali in Indonesia began welcoming tourists last Feb. 4, the same article from the property consultancy firm said.

Airline industry experts are bullish about prospects for 2022.

Airporttechnology.com quoted Alpha Aviation Group founder Bhanu Choudrie as saying that based on the latest IATA numbers, global airlines have projected a considerable reduction in industry losses in 2022, with expectation that international travel will rise steadily and reach almost half of 2019 levels.

Choudrie noted that the pandemic has put a sharp focus on health and safety, and on cleaning regimes across several facets of the aviation sector, so that widespread adoption of hygiene enhancement and germ-killing solutions due to the virus will be here to stay. He also revealed that UV technology for cleaning everything from security trays at airports to cabin surfaces has seen deployment across the globe.

He expects to see more stringent cleaning protocols deployed to sanitize high-use touchpoints, and technologies like aircraft fogging, increased use of high efficiency particulate air filters, continued use of PPE by aircrews this year, as well as digitization of health records or vaccine passports, and its seamless incorporation in the travel process.

But equally important, Choudrie mentioned that the aviation sector is expected to focus on growing automation, increasing digitization, and adoption of an agile operating model as key focus areas for 2022, with airlines, airports, and the entire sector needing to enhance operational efficiency, strategically adding resources that boost operational efficiency, and be prepared to adapt to fluctuating demand and passenger numbers.

For his part, SITA CEO Sebastien Fabre said in the same article that automation and digitization are crucial, even as there is a need to standardize and digitalize health verification to ensure easier, safer, and more seamless travel in the face of ongoing health concerns.

It is good that our airline companies are still doing well inspite of the challenges brought about by reduced travel.

Flag carrier Philippine Airlines last month announced that it has emerged from its voluntary Chapter 11 proceedings and has successfully completed its financial restructuring in a much faster time compared to other airlines globally.

The company’s restructuring plan provides for over $2 billion in permanent balance sheet reductions from existing creditors, improvements in its critical operational agreements, and additional liquidity, including a $505 million investment in long-term equity and debt financing from its majority shareholder.

PAL also streamlined operations and said that it intends to restore more routes and increase flight frequencies as travel restrictions ease and borders reopen.

Meanwhile, Cebu Pacific just received its first Airbus A330neo, which it says allows more travellers to be carried in a single flight resulting in the lowest carbon footprint per passenger. With its latest technologies, the eco-plane uses 25 percent less fuel compared to the previous generation aircraft. Since it burns less fuel, it also emits less carbon.

Cebu Pacific chief strategy officer Alex Reyes earlier said that this brings the company closer to its target of having an all-Neo fleet by 2027.

For her part, Tourism Secretary Berna Romulo-Puyat is optimistic that the loosening of travel restrictions and continuous drop in daily COVID-19 cases mean that the travel industry is slowly, but surely and safely recovering, and its days of despair are over.

She said the move to allow the entry of fully vaccinated international travellers from the 157 countries that have visa-free arrangements with the Philippines is a welcome development that will lead to growth in the travel and tourism sector, the restoration of lost jobs, the generation of much-needed revenue for tourism-related enterprises, tourism communities, and the government, plus many other benefits that will be felt by the entire tourism value chain.

Indeed, a lot of people are now considering travelling outside the country, maybe not in the next few weeks, but definitely within this year.

They probably just need more anecdotes from friends and even celebrities who have travelled and have enjoyed their recent trips abroad, safely at that.

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