16 | INDUSTRY Travel news
NEWS IN BRIEF Malaysia to lure Thai tourists
www.opp.org.uk | JUNE 2010 Brits drive back to Europe By STEPHEN HARRIS
MORE Brits are set to travel abroad this year as the recession trend for staying in the UK begins to wane. Enquiries for holiday homes based
MALAYSIA is hoping for an increase in foreign tourism in the wake of civil unrest in Thailand. Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Ng Yen Yen said Malaysia off ered an alternative to tourists who had planned to cancel their trips following clashes between political protestors and the Thai army in Bangkok. “We will be launching the Colours of Malaysia 2010 event at Dataran Merdeka on May 22 and this will be another good attraction that we can off er such tourists,” she said.
Foreign travel up 7%
INTERNATIONAL tourist arrivals rose by 7% globally in the fi rst two months of 2010, according to UN data, building on the upturn that began at the end of last year. Asia Pacifi c led the recovery with arrivals increasing by 10%, followed by Africa with 7%. Early information also points to strong recovery in the Middle East but Europe and the Americas saw lesser growth of 3%. The last quarter of 2009 saw global arrivals grow by 2%, following 14 consecutive months of decreasing traffi c.
worse than terrorism’ EPIDEMICS are more likely than terrorist attacks to put tourists off from visiting a country, says new research. Around 31% of travellers would avoid an area aff ected by disease, compared to 21% for terrorism, 20% for civil unrest and 17% for a natural disaster, according to a poll by fl ight comparison site Skyscanner. Tourists are likely to wait on average around 12 months before visiting a country after the end of an epidemic or civil unrest.
‘Disease and epidemics US TOURISM UP
THE number of international visitors to the US increased by 22% in the 12 months up to February 2010, according to the Department of Commerce. A total of 3.5 million foreign citizens arrived in February, with visits from Mexico up 114% and from China up 90%. Trips from Western Europe increased by 2% while those from Asia rose 27%.
in the UK have only reached 54% of their levels at this time last year, according to rental firm HomeAway. But searches for Western European destinations are increasing. The company says its peak booking
months have now passed so it doesn’t believe that 2010 will see the same number of enquiries for so-called ‘staycation’ holidays as 2009. Although the UK’s percentage share
of enquiries has gone up slightly, the fi rm puts this down to an increase in the number of available holiday homes. Home Away also notes that the
number of enquiries per property has gone down. A recent survey by the company
showed that 57% of Brits intend to holiday abroad this year, and one in fi ve
Countries like France have seen a resurgence in holiday home bookings
plan to rent a property. There are also other signs support the
theory that the desire to travel abroad is growing, according to HomeAway’s general manager, Courtney Wylie. “For example, advertising UK holdays
on Google doesn’t seem to be as cost- effective as last year,” she said. “Lots of companies are going after
certain adwords thinking the trend is still there but the traveller desire seems to be going down, which correlates with what we’re seeing.”
Although more people may be looking
to escape the UK – following last year’s wet summer and unusually cold winter – they are still looking to save money by reducing travel costs, she added. “Places you can drive to in Europe that
are mid-way between a UK holiday and long-haul destination are doing well. France in particular is having a nice resurgence. “Portugal is having a great year, while
enquiries for Turkey – which boomed in 2009 – look likely to be the same or slightly less.”
Mayan Riviera wins new airport
A NEW $250 million airport in Mexico is expected to boost international visits to the tourist region of Riviera Maya. The Mexican government announced
last month that from November it would accept bids for construction and operation of the new airport, located 50km south of Cancun in the former fi shing town of Tulum. The previously delayed project is
expected to receive 3 million tourists by its third year of operations, according to Mexico’s communications and transport ministry.
Carlos Vidali, senior vice president
for Mexico at consultancy Panorama International, said: “It will certainly improve access and facilitate travel to a region that has seen incredible traffic increase during the past few
years, making the present Cancun Airport insufficient and inefficient to handle visitors, especially during the high season.” The Mexican tourist industry has
been hit particularly hard in the last year by the combination of the global recession and the swine fl u pandemic. The airport will encourage the
3 million more tourists within 3 years NEW EASYJET FLIGHTS
BUDGET UK airline easyJet has started operating three-times weekly fl ights from Manchester to Sharm el Sheikh in Egypt and Mahon on the Spanish island of Menorca. The company has also launched routes from London Stansted to Dalaman and Bodrum in Turkey, and Dubrovnik and Split in Croatia.
diversifi cation of the region’s tourist industry, said a government statement. “Among other benefi ts, the new airport will reduce travel time from Cancun or Cozumel to other destinations in the Mayan Riviera.”
CHINESE TRAVEL GROWS
CHINESE tourists increased their spend on foreign travel by almost 21% last year – helping pull the tourism industry out of decline at the start of 2010. The Chinese overtook the French as the fourth biggest tourism spenders – according to the UN World Travel Organisation’s latest Tourism Barometer – as its economy grew by 9%.
INDUSTRY
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