Reviving th the Economy and Resuming Travel and Tourism in in th the COVID-19 Era Patr tric ick Ose sewe Chie ief of Healt lth Se Sector Group
Contents I. Context Setting: Global Travel and the COVID-19 Pandemic II. COVID- 19’s Impact on Travel and Tourism in Asia and the Pacific III. Measures to Support the Industry IV. Expert-Informed Travel Policy Recommendations 2
I. Global Context Setting 3
Context Setting: Travel, Tourism and the COVID-19 Pandemic • Globally, the impact of COVID-19 has been particularly catastrophic for the travel and tourism sector, with the decline in international air travel bringing the industry to an abrupt halt. • According to the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), at the height of the crisis, every destination worldwide had imposed at least some travel restrictions — a historic first. • As a result of the pandemic, the global travel and tourism market faces a loss of up to 100 million jobs worldwide in 2020, based on research from the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC). 4
II. COVID- 19’s Impact on Travel and Tourism in Asia and the Pacific 5
COVID- 19’s Impact on Travel and Tourism in Asia and the Pacific Travel and Tourism • The Asia and Pacific region stands to lose approximately 69 million travel and tourism-related (% of GDP and % of Employment), 2019 jobs and $1.1 trillion in GDP ⎯ more than any other region in the world. Papua New Guinea Uzbekistan Kyrgyz Republic Bangladesh • In June, IATA estimated that the air transport industry Indonesia Kazakhstan in the Asia-Pacific region is expected to register losses Myanmar totaling $29 billion in 2020 , the largest absolute losses Pakistan Tajikistan of all the regions. Nepal Brunei Darussalam Vietnam India • Hotels in the region are also in crisis and have Solomon Islands experienced sharp declines in occupancy rates, up Mongolia to 60% in some countries . China Sri Lanka Azerbaijan Tonga Armenia • Informal workers, often among the poorest and most Kiribati vulnerable members, and those employed by small Philippines and medium businesses have been severely impacted Thailand Georgia by the negative effects of the COVID-19 crisis, Cambodia including through the loss of livelihoods, disruptions Fiji to education and health services, and food Vanuatu scarcity , among other areas. 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 Share of Total Employment Share of GDP 6
III. Measures to Support the Travel and Tourism Industry 7
Measures to Support the Travel and Tourism Industry • Governments: • Lifting travel restrictions • Introducing fiscal stimulus and monetary packages with tourism- specific measures (e.g., Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Palau, and the Republic of Korea have deferred tax payments for small travel and tourism businesses ) • Promoting job retention (e.g., Cambodia announced a plan to pay 20% of the workers’ minimum wages employed in hotels, guesthouses, restaurants and travel agencies ) • Preparing tourism recovery plans (e.g. Maldives developed guidelines for restarting tourism ) 8
Measures to Support the Travel and Tourism Industry • Travel and Tourism Industry: • New health protocols for safe travel (e.g. Hilton’s CleanStay, WTTC’s Safe Travels Protocols) • Information and digital contract tracing apps for visitors (e.g. Singapore) • Enhanced cleaning and sanitation procedures (e.g., Cathay Pacific, Singapore Airlines, Emirates) • New technologies (e.g., air filtration systems /Boeing) • Joint approaches (e.g., development of a joint approach for restarting the aviation industry by IATA and ACI) 9
Measures to Support the Travel and Tourism Industry • International Organizations: • ADB has leveraged a portion of its $20 billion comprehensive COVID-19 response package and is providing substantial ongoing support through finance, knowledge, and partnership to respond to requests from its Developing Member Countries (DMCs) for guidance about how to restart travel. • ICAO established the Council’s Aviation Recovery Task Force (CART) in order to respond to the need for aligned guidance around air travel for governments and industry stakeholders. ICAO’s CART recently published a “Take - Off framework” that includes recommendations to guide the international air transport system in its recovery and to build air travel. • UNWTO produced a global action plan focused on the key priorities to mitigate the socio-economic impact of COVID-19 and to support jobs and economies through tourism and recently released Global Guidelines to Restart Tourism, an action plan focused on priorities for industry recovery. 10
Measures to Support the Travel and Tourism Industry • ADB-specific response efforts • Convened a panel of leading experts from academia, government, global health organizations, travel and tourism, and technology to reach consensus on and prioritize a set of post-COVID-19 pandemic policy recommendations. • Supporting Pacific Island countries (e.g. Fiji and Cook Islands) to access Trans-Tasman travel bubble between Australia and New Zealand. • Co-hosted a high-level consultative virtual roundtable on the theme of Reopening Pacific Borders. The meeting included participation from WCO, WTO, IATA, UN, ADB, and CDC. 11
IV. Expert-Informed Travel Policy Recommendations 12
Expert-Informed Travel Policy Recommendations • As borders re-open, countries are seeking actionable guidance about how to restart travel and support the tourism sector. • However, there was a lack of a coordinated, harmonized approach to restoring air travel and supporting other industry stakeholders to adopt a common set of post-pandemic health and safety measures. • ADB ⎯ in collaboration with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and other stakeholders ⎯ engaged a panel of leading experts from travel and tourism, global health, and academia to reach consensus on a set of post-COVID-19 health-focused travel policy recommendations. 13
Expert-Informed Travel Policy Recommendations • The aim of this engagement was to: 1. Better understand both the unprecedented impact of COVID-19 across travel and tourism in Asia and the Pacific, along with current efforts to support the sector in response, recovery, and resiliency; 2. Identify a set of immediate and prioritized actions validated by experts to help travel and tourism stakeholders and government leaders reopen the sectors safely. 14
Expert-Informed Travel Policy Recommendations Participants Airports Airlines and Manufacturers • Central Japan International • Association of Asia Pacific Airlines Airport Co. Ltd. • Bangkok Airways • Narita International Airport • Air New Zealand Corporation • Fiji Airways • Incheon Airport • Boeing • Samoa Airport Authority • Changi Airports International • Pohnpei Board Authority 15
Expert-Informed Travel Policy Recommendations Participants Hospitality Industry Academia • Yaana Ventures • Asian Institute of Management • Intrepid Travel • Ateneo School of Medicine • Discova/Flight Centre and Public Health • Amadeus • Ateneo School of • Banyan Tree Hotels & Resorts Government • Marriott • 7 Eleven Corporation 16
Expert-Informed Travel Policy Recommendations Partner Organizations • International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) • International Air Transport Association (IATA) • Airport Council International (ACI) • Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) • World Health Organization (WHO) 17
Expert-Informed Travel Policy Recommendations 1. Conducted a literature review of the impact of COVID-19 on the travel and tourism industry, and in Asia and the Pacific 2. Reviewed relevant emerging health guidelines and protocols for reopening tourism and travel • 12 protocol documents reviewed • Over 275 individual health and safety-focused recommendations considered 3. Consolidated the list by identifying 4 categories to consolidate and group recommendations 4. Validated list with global health experts and travel industry leaders and incorporated their feedback 5. Created a final list of 25 health-focused policy recommendations that were included in the Delphi process
Expert-Informed Travel Policy Recommendations How can the recommendations be applied? • A flexible menu of evidence-based and expert-validated policy recommendations will be generated to guide travel and tourism stakeholders and to support reactivation of the sector. • Stakeholders can select the combination of recommendations that best fit their context and are technically and financially feasible ⎯ depending on their respective countries, the demand for travel, human and financial resources, and legal and capacity constraints.
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