Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation – an international club for 21 Pacific Rim economies was one of the first to suffer from a sharp decrease in tourist arrivals in the first quarter of 2020. Nevertheless, it is expected that these nations may also become the first ones to re-launch their tourism industry. According to the APEC Tourism Working Group Lead Shepherd Muhammad Daud, who is also the Senior Director of Tourism Policy and International Relations of Malaysia’s Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, new concepts, such as the “travel bubble” and “safe travel zones” may help in this process.
Sputnik: Asia-Pacific is known for its vacation spots, which are very popular among international tourists. How did the COVID-19 pandemic affect these areas? What is the scale of financial losses for the tourism industry in the region?
Muhammad Daud: Asia-Pacific was the first region to suffer the impact of COVID-19 and the worst hit. At the onset, research by the World Travel and Tourism Council estimated a loss of up to $800 billion to the tourism GDP in the region with nearly 49 million jobs at risk. Recent figures released by the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) have shown a drop of 35 percent (33 million) in international tourist arrivals to Asia and the Pacific in the first quarter of 2020 as compared to the same period last year.
This is followed by Europe (-19 percent), the Americas (-15 percent), Africa (-12 percent) and the Middle East (-11 percent). While future estimates are being revised from time to time due to the prolonged nature of the crisis, current scenarios for the year indicate worldwide declines of 58 percent to 78 percent in arrivals, which translates to a loss of $860 billion to $1.2 trillion in export revenues from tourism.
The Asia Pacific remains the most impacted region. On a more positive note, Asia and the Pacific is also expected to rebound first. In its latest report, the Pacific Asia Travel Association said it expects the volume of visitor arrivals in this region to reach more than 610 million in 2021, marking a three percent increase above levels recorded in 2019.
Sputnik: In many countries around the world governments established emergency funds and helped farmers, retail businesses and other industries. Have you seen the same kind of support for the tourism and hospitality industry across APEC and what is the situation like with coronavirus financial and tax relief country by country? Is there a particular focus on helping small and medium enterprises, or, perhaps, larger hotel chains?
Muhammad Daud: The APEC Tourism Working Group is actively monitoring measures introduced by APEC member economies and around the world to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 to tourism in the region to complement global work done by the UNWTO. The sharing of information would be beneficial for economies to emulate each other in terms of short-term response measures and for medium to long-term tourism recovery. Globally, fiscal (e.g. tax reductions or exemptions), monetary (e.g. lines of credit, interest rates) and employment policies are being overwhelmingly implemented to mitigate the impact of the crisis.
Sputnik: Malaysia has always been active in promoting its national tourism brand. What is the current strategy of the government in terms of resuming tourism and what changes could people expect when travelling to Malaysia after restrictions are lifted?
Muhammad Daud: Malaysia stands guided by health authorities in determining appropriate Standard Operating Procedures and health protocols for the travel and tourism sector, which will include sanitising surface contacts, physical distancing, the use of face masks and hand sanitizer, body temperature checks when entering travel destinations/premises, and other necessary adjustments for travel operators, meetings and events, attractions and destination management.
Depending on the global scenario, Malaysia looks forward to reviving international tourism promotional efforts in the latter part of 2020, and in the interim, the focus will be on domestic recovery.
Sputnik: Many countries have already passed the peak of coronavirus and are preparing to open up for tourism. Which APEC economies will be the first accept foreign tourists, and what is your estimate on the dates when it might happen?
While there are no dates set as yet for reopening of borders to international tourists, we have seen positive indicators in some parts of the region with tourism activities resuming for domestic travelers.