Philippines among the 'laggards' in Asia's tourism revival
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines' tourism industry is poised to recover last in Asia as the country struggles to arrest coronavirus spread, likely dealing a huge blow on what was once a booming dollar source for the economy.
Together with India, Malaysia and Indonesia, the Philippines is likely to be among the "laggards" in Asia's tourism revival, ANZ Research said in a report on Friday. This is because these destinations remain "weak" in terms of reopening to tourists amid a sluggish domestic vaccination and uncontrolled local outbreaks.
"So until their domestic virus situation is deemed lowrisk, the tourism sectors in India, Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia are likely to be the laggards, even though they have relatively higher exposure to tourists from economies that are ahead of the vaccination curve," ANZ explained.
On the other end of the spectrum, Singapore appears to be the best-placed to lead the tourism recovery in the region, ANZ said. It has had few to no local virus transmission in recent months and has the fastest vaccine rollout in the region, prompting Singaporean authorities to reopen its borders to travellers from Australia, Brunei, mainland China, New Zealand and Taiwan.
Meanwhile, Thailand has been "proactive" in trying to kick-start the recovery of its tourism sector. It has reopened its borders to international tourists since fourth quarter last year, and recently reduced quarantine restrictions for vaccinated travellers. "Still, the pace of domestic vaccination nationwide will hinder the pace of the recovery," ANZ said.
If ANZ's outlook is realized, it would not be surprising at all after the Philippines was shut off to the rest of the world from March to September last year as part of lockdowns to control the pandemic’s spread.
The consequence was massive. Tourist receipts in 2020 crashed to P82.24 billion from a record-high of P482.15 billion in 2019. At the same time, foreign arrivals plummeted to just 1.48 million last year, down 82.05% year-on-year.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas was hoping for tourism to gain ground. From a massive 79.5% annual slump in 2020 income, tourist receipts are seen to grow 15% this year and a faster 20% in 2022.
But that target — together with the tourism department's own goal of capturing 10 million foreigners by 2022 — has become more difficult to achieve now after a renewed surge in infections triggered fresh restrictions in Metro Manila and four nearby areas, which some sectors partly blamed to the tourism reopening.
What is sure for now is that focus had been diverted to supporting local tourism in low-risk areas, as the government has yet to indicate when it plans to reopen borders to foreign travelers. "A contained domestic virus outbreak is a pre-requisite for a tourism recovery," ANZ said.
"Economies with high COVID-19 cases will have a more challenging time capturing travel demand and negotiating travel bubble arrangements, regardless of their own reopening policies," it added.
Find the latest travel and tourism news from around the world amid the coronavirus pandemic. Main image by AFP/Romeo Gacad
Airlines will fly 4.35 billion passengers this year, close to the 2019 record as the industry bounces back from the Covid pandemic, an industry group said on Monday.
The sector will also be back in the green, with net profits forecast to reach $9.8 billion in 2023, or double previous estimates, boosted by the end of China's Covid restrictions, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
The association added that its 2022 losses were half as bad as previously estimated at $3.6 billion.
"Airline financial performance in 2023 is beating expectations," IATA director general Willie Walsh said in a statement during the association's annual general meeting in Istanbul.
"Stronger profitability is supported by several positive developments. China lifted Covid-19 restrictions earlier in the year than anticipated," Walsh said. — AFP
Hong Kong carrier Cathay Pacific reports its first annual operating profit since 2019 as the airline fights to return to pre-pandemic flight capacity.
"Cathay Pacific has experienced three challenging years due to the Covid-19 pandemic, with 2022 very much being a year of two halves," chairman Patrick Healy says in a statement announcing the results..
Cathay is still trailing regional rivals such as Singapore Airlines, with Hong Kong's axing of harsh pandemic curbs -- including mandatory hotel quarantine and strict testing requirements -- only beginning in the fall of last year.
The airline operated at one-third of pre-pandemic passenger flight capacity in December but expects to reach 70% of that figure by the end of 2023, the company says. — AFP
German airline giant Lufthansa says Friday it returned to annual profit in 2022 after two years of losses, its fortunes lifted by rebounding demand as economies reopened after COVID-19 shutdowns.
The group reported a net profit of 791 million euros ($839 million) for last year. This compares to a net loss of 2.2 billion euros in 2021 and 6.7 billion euros in 2020.
"Lufthansa is back," says the company's CEO Carsten Spohr. — AFP
People hoping to take advantage of a Hong Kong scheme to give away half a million free airline tickets face hours-long online queues on Wednesday, as the Asian financial hub bids to woo tourists back.
The city last month launched a campaign to reboot its reputation as "Asia's world city", after years of strict pandemic-related travel restrictions and a crackdown on sometimes violent pro-democracy protests.
On Wednesday, Hong Kong became one of the last places in the world to drop its outdoor mask mandate, which city leader John Lee said was a sign that it was "resuming normalcy". — AFP
Australian airline Qantas says Thursday it bounced back into profit in late 2022, hailing a "huge turnaround" after swallowing massive losses throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
The national carrier posted a second-half profit of Aus$1.43 billion (US$974 million) before tax, after accumulating Aus$7 billion in losses across the previous three years.
Chief executive Alan Joyce says surging demand for flights had boosted the company's fortunes while announcing a plan to buy back Aus$500 million in Qantas shares. — AFP
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