PATA: ‘Great expectations for Pacific Asia’

Chairman of the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) UK & Ireland, Chris Crampton, says agents can now look forward to certainty after months of haphazard reopening across Asia Pacific.

The reopening of the final few key holiday destinations brings more opportunity for agents.

The Asia Pacific is the region to watch, and is going to be the fastest growing demand wise in the months ahead, Crampton said in a message to travel agents.

“While it’s been the slowest region to fully return, huge pent up demand means we are already seeing an increase in booking volumes for winter’22 and into 2023.

Most recently, and long awaited, New Zealand and Japan reopened borders which has contributed to a spike in bookings and Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia are also ranking in operators top selling long haul destinations.

This is great news for hotels, DMCs and attractions who are finally reporting a sustained source of income from tourism again.

Big ticket trips are still popular too, the likes of Australia and New Zealand, as consumers seek big adventures.

It’s not always about quantity though, Bhutan’s recent re-opening comes with a firm responsible tourism policy – high value, low volume – their sustainable development tourism fee aims to mitigate the negative impact of tourism on the country.”

Air Capacity Challenge

Air capacity remains the region’s biggest barrier to immediate growth. There aren’t currently enough flights to meet consumer demand; plus fuel prices, are driving up the cost of flights but overall Asia remains good value for luxury beach holidays and experiential trips.

What’s selling for 2023

David Kevan, Co-Director of CHIC Locations says countries within Asia, particularly Thailand and Malaysia, are providing excellent value for money. Although air fares have increased (worldwide) Asia is very affordable in terms of hotel rates, eating out and other holiday essentials

Sam Collins, Far East Product Manager for Best at Travel says 2022 has been a year of uncertain changes but this has settled down and consumers have more confidence in the Far East now.

The initial rebound to the region has seen a surge in long stay multigenerational villa bookings. Multicentre bookings have taken longer to return but are a huge opportunity now much of the region is open.

Meanwhile, this month sees PATA return with its popular winter agent training programme including the following events:

• Vietnam Online Quiz, 15 November 2022
• Indian Ocean Virtual Roadshow, 30 November 2022 – NEW!
• Australia Online Quiz, 01 December 2022