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APAC Travel, Tourism Set To Recover By 40%: WTTC

New research from the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) reveals the recovery of the Asia Pacific Travel & Tourism sector has soared ahead of many regions in the world with a year-on-year growth of more than 36%. Before the pandemic struck, Asia Pacific’s Travel & Tourism sector’s contribution to GDP represented more than US$ 3 trillion (9.9% of the region’s economy). After the pandemic brought international travel to an almost complete standstill, in 2020, Asia Pacific saw a hit of almost 54%, halving the contribution of the Travel & Tourism sector to the region’s economy. However, according to the research, and based on the current rate of recovery, the sector’s contribution to the region’s GDP could see a year-on-year increase of 36.3% this year, ahead of the global average of 30.7%, which represents an increase of US$ 515 billion. The data also reveals Travel & Tourism’s contribution to the Asia Pacific economy could see a similar year on year rise of 35.8% in 2022, representing an increase of US$ 692 billion. Domestic spend is expected to grow by 49% by the end of this year and experience a year on year rise of more than a quarter (25.5%) in 2022. WTTC’s research goes on to show that while international spend is predicted to drop by nearly 25% on 2020 figures, one of the worst years on record for the Travel & Tourism sector, 2022 is looking more positive. Next year, international spend growth is set to rise by US$ 156 billion (148%) providing a massive boost to the region’s economy. In terms of employment, in 2019, the Asia Pacific Travel & Tourism sector supported more than 185 million jobs. After a loss of over 34 million jobs last year, when travel restrictions brought international mobility to an almost complete standstill, devastating livelihoods across the region and around the world, employment growth is set to rise by a marginal 0.4% in 2021. However, employment growth could experience a 19.8% year on year increase, reaching more than 181 million jobs in 2022. Julia Simpson, WTTC President & CEO, said: “Our research clearly shows that while the global Travel & Tourism sector is beginning to recover, Asia Pacific is doing so at a much faster rate. “Many countries in the APAC region, such as the Philippines, host to our prestigious annual Global Summit next March, are not only ramping up their entire vaccination programme, but also focusing on speeding up the vaccination rollout in key tourism destinations and front line tourism sector workers in order to reboot their Travel & Tourism sectors. “With high vaccination rates around the region, and a predicted rise in international and domestic spend next year, the outlook for both jobs and GDP is looking much more positive for next year.” According to the research, the sector’s contribution to the region’s GDP and the rise in jobs could be more positive this year and next, if five vital measures are met by governments around the world. These measures include allowing fully vaccinated travellers to move freely, irrespective of their origin or eventual destination. Secondly, the implementation of digital solutions which enable all travellers to easily prove their COVID status, in turn speeding up the process at borders around the world. Thirdly, for safe international travel to fully restart, governments must recognise for all vaccines authorised by WHO. Fourthly, continued support of the COVAX/UNICEF initiative to ensure equitable distribution of vaccines around the world. Finally, the continued implementation of enhanced health and safety protocols, which will underpin customer confidence. If these five vital measures are followed before the end of 2021, research shows the impact on the economy and jobs across Asia Pacific could be considerable. The Travel & Tourism’s contribution to GDP would benefit from these measures and could rise by 46.7% (US$ 661 billion) by the end of this year, and a further year on year rise of 37.8% (US$ 785 billion) in 2022. According to the research, domestic spend could increase by 59% this year, followed by a 26.2% growth in 2022. Although international spend could continue to plunge by 12.6% in 2021, it could experience a massive boost of 153% next year, representing a rise of US$ 188 billion. Employment could see an 8% rise this year, and a year-on-year increase of 21.6% in 2022, recovering more than 47 million jobs by next year. This would exceed pre-pandemic levels and provide the region with an additional 13 million jobs.

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Hotel La Tour to open in Milton Keynes next year

Post a £39 million pound investment, privately owned British hospitality company, Hotel La Tour, is set to open in Milton Keynes in April. The mirror steel clad property, designed by PHP Architects, will feature 261 bedrooms, 14,000 square feet of flexible events space, a gym and a 14th floor restaurant and sky bar offering the highest viewpoint in the county. Hotel La Tour Milton Keynes will also boast a glass lift providing a unique visual experience of Campbell Park and beyond as guests travel to the top floor. A 30-metre high, LED-lit stainless steel ‘sun’ design circle, created to align with the sun on the longest day of the year, will dominate the east-facing façade whilst a large sculpture, entitled Cycloidal Form by the artist Keith McCarter, will be placed adjacent to the canopy entrance. The four-star-plus hotel’s 261 luxury bedrooms and suites will all feature floor-to-ceiling windows, boasting views over Milton Keynes Central or Campbell Park, as well as in-room technology such as Ultra HD TVs, Ultra-fast WIFI and 24-hour room service. On the fourteenth-floor is a destination skyline bar and restaurant with 360-degree panoramic vistas over Buckinghamshire and Bedfordshire. The elegant 180-cover contemporary British restaurant will serve breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner with all dishes using seasonal, British sourced produce. The bar offering includes expertly made classic and contemporary cocktails, fine wines and champagnes and locally sourced brews as well as finger-friendly food and sharing plates. Hotel La Tour Milton Keynes managing director, Mark Stuart, said: “We are incredibly excited to open Hotel La Tour in Milton Keynes. “Our aim is to deliver best in class, providing visitors, locals and hotel guests with a unique perspective of Milton Keynes and world-class amenities. “Encapsulating the town’s aspiration to be better by design, we have worked hard to create an aesthetically pleasing and sustainable building that delivers on luxury as well as functionality. “We are committed to supporting the growth of Milton Keynes’ economy and this investment demonstrates our confidence in its strength.”

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Go First introduces 32 new domestic flights with new connections from Amritsar, Surat, Dehradun, and Aizawl

Go First, formerly known as GoAir has announced the introduction of 32 new domestic flights which includes addition of Amritsar, Surat, Dehradun, and Aizawl to its domestic network. These airports will be connected by direct flights to and from Delhi, Mumbai, Srinagar, Bengaluru, Kolkata, and Guwahati, thus enhancing regional connectivity. The addition of new stations will further reinforce the ultra-low cost-carrier’s robust network capacity and enhanced connectivity between metros and tier I cities with added flight choices for passengers. Amritsar will be connected to Mumbai with two daily flights, Delhi with three daily flights and Srinagar with one daily flight with connections through its hubs in Mumbai and Delhi to/from Bengaluru, Jammu, Patna, Varanasi, Lucknow, Maldives, Goa, Ranchi, Cochin, Nagpur, Jaipur, and Chennai. Surat will be connected to Bengaluru (1x daily), Delhi (2x daily) and Kolkata (1x daily) with connections to/from Hyderabad, Siliguri, Patna, Srinagar, Guwahati, Jammu, Maldives, Lucknow, and Ranchi. Dehradun will be connected to Mumbai (1x daily), Delhi (2x daily) with connections to/from Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Lucknow, Chennai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Ranchi, Patna, Varanasi and Goa. Aijawl will be connected to Kolkata, Guwahati, and Delhi. Speaking on the development, Kaushik Khona, Chief Executive Officer, Go First, said, “At Go First, it has been a constant endeavour to build a strong network that will offer our customers ease of travel and viable options to choose from. We believe that the addition of these new stations will not only make our network robust but would provide customers direct connectivity to metros and other important cities and beyond.” The airline has recently opened new international and domestic sectors and added new aircraft to its fleet. The carrier has one of the youngest aircraft fleets globally with an average fleet age of 3.6 years.

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Singapore gradually easing Covid-19 measures: PM Lee

Singapore, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has said that the country is gradually easing Covid-19 safety measures and making sure the situation stabilises with each step, so as to avoid "unsettling" U-turns. "What I am trying to do is to ease up a little bit, make sure things stabilise, ease up a bit more," Lee said. "And eventually, it probably will not be back to status quo ante but close enough, and without having had to make unsettling U-turns," he said on Wednesday at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum. The Prime Minister said that the Singapore population will be "frustrated (and) disappointed" if the country opens up only to tighten measures again when cases flare up, and there may also be a "human price" to pay. "I think it is better we take it step by step. I am not absolutely certain that I can do this without any misstep, I may have to step on the brakes again from time to time, but that is my game plan," The Channel News Asia quoted Lee as saying. However, as the virus mutates and the science evolves, Singapore has had to "change course" from stamping out the Coronavirus to living with it. The Forum is one example of recent relaxation, making it possible to hold a largescale event with more than 300 delegates from 51 countries attending it inperson at the Capella hotel on Sentosa. According to the Ministry of Health, Singapore on Wednesday reported 3,320 Coronavirus cases from the community and 144 infections from migrant workers' dormitories as well as 10 imported cases and seven deaths. With this, the national tally has reached to 244,815 cases and 619 deaths.

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Domestic air passenger volume spikes 70.5% to 89.85 lakh in October

Domestic air passenger volume spiked 70.46 per cent in October to 89.85 lakh over the same month of 2020, DGCA data showed on Thursday. The Indian carriers had flown 52.71 lakh passengers in October last year. It may be recalled that domestic traffic along with international flight services remained shut for two months until May 25, 2020, when scheduled air services were resumed in a graded manner. Scheduled international flight operations to and from India remain suspended as of now. IndiGo in October 2021 flew 48.07 lakh passengers, accounting for 53.5 per cent of the total domestic traffic. Whereas, Air India, which is now set to go to its new owner Tata Group, transported 10.61 lakh passengers with an 11.8 per cent market share, according to data. Full-service carrier Vistara, which is the Tata-SIA joint venture airline, flew 6.96 lakh passengers during October, cornering 7.8 per cent of the total pie. Budget carrier AirAsia India carried 5.72 lakh passengers in the previous month and had a market share of 6.4 per cent, according to DGCA data. The two other carriers - Go First (erstwhile GoAir) and SpiceJet - transported 8.84 lakh and 8.10 lakh passengers, respectively, in October 2021, weaning away 9.8 per cent and 9 per cent share of the total domestic passenger traffic. In terms of average on-time performance or time punctuality in operations from the four key airports - Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru, IndiGo delivered the highest OTP at 88.8 per cent followed by Vistara with 88.1 per cent and AirAsia India 86. 9 per cent, as per data.

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PromPeru India launches specialised training programme for travel trade partners

PromPeru India, the promotion agency of Peru for trade, tourism, and investments has launched a specialised training programme, PeruAgent, for the Indian travel trade partners. The programme provides a comprehensive introduction to fundamentals of the South American nation and travel attractions to promote. The launch of PeruAgent in India is demonstrative of PromPeru’s continued commitment towards India as one of the most important markets of its region. This foundational concept supports agents as they outline innovative Peruvian itineraries for their clients. The programme is developed in response to travel agents request to assist them with learning and guiding on creating effective itineraries. The programme also helps in broadening the knowledge and the learning curve for new entrants. The training platform contains short, yet informative modules, which will guide the travel agents through the distinct facets of the country, in addition to providing promotional collateral required to design intuitive itineraries. Peru is one of the fastest growing tourist destinations in the Latin American region owing to an experience which offers equal parts of tradition, modernity, art, music, and culture with world-renowned gastronomy.

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