After around two years of tight border controls, Southeast Asia is now loosening travel restrictions and opening borders. With growing sentiment that the pandemic has become more controllable, this flurry of openings is pointing the way towards what many hope to be longer-term recovery, especially for nations in the region that have depended heavily on regular travel for leisure and work. ‘From the Hill’ looks at how Southeast Asia is gearing up for more unfettered travel as the region transitions into its new normal – and the longer-term opportunities that may come with it.
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Across Southeast Asia, 1 April was marked by the easing of travel restrictions, with most of the region’s countries reducing entry and quarantine requirements for international travellers. The buoyancy in travel aspirations also means that the tourism industry may once again play an important role in their government’s economic forecasts – which, for now, may still be conservative as certain corridors (including the emergence of more travel bubbles in the region) are being prioritised over others for now. Nevertheless, at least for the region’s most popular destinations, travel demand is starting to surge and industry operators will need to race to meet it after an extended period of relative inactivity.
Southeast Asian nations also appear to be learning lessons from the pandemic-induced travel slump – namely, on how to improve the tourism sector’s resilience against future unprecedented global crises. This has been translated into exploring opportunities to rebuild tourism back better, stronger and more sustainable to improve their appeal to more discerning travellers, in addition to pushing the digital envelope on more virtual tourism experiences. However, in the short term, governments may take more measured approaches that marry both green and digitalisation efforts that tie into broader national developments plans.
While ASEAN is looking to a more hopeful travel future, countries in neighbouring sub-regions are still willing to prioritise caution over tourism revenues, despite some of them beginning pandemic recovery sooner than many of their Southeast Asian counterparts. This is exemplified in Japan and, in more dire circumstances, parts of China. Meanwhile, countries such as Sri Lanka – which never imposed travel restrictions as strictly as its Southeast Asian neighbours – may be left behind in Asia’s immediate tourism recovery, given its current political and economic instability.
Overall, Southeast Asia is getting into the mood for travel as the world move towards COVID-19's endemic phase. However, the contrast between the region and parts of Asia shows that, ultimately, domestic concerns remain paramount – meaning that, beyond external pressures, a return of more active travel corridors can only happen when governments are confident meeting their own pandemic recovery targets.
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