The hospitality industry is gradually returning to its pre-Covid sales and performance after the two-year-long pandemic and post-pandemic hurdles.
While some domestic hospitality players in this segment still need to be financially balanced and are still trying to pay the liabilities accumulated during the Covid and post-Covid period, industry players are seeing new and modern trends in travellers.
Traveloka Malaysia country manager Angelica Chan said the pandemic has indeed changed how people travel, and the travel platform is now seeing a shift in consumer habits and demands.
"The lockdown accelerated and reshaped consumers' online purchasing habits, including purchasing travel-related products.
"For 2023, we will continue to play an active role in supporting the recovery and shaping the future of travel experiences by ensuring safe travel options while providing our users with personalised choices and flexibility," she told The New Straits Times (NST).
Angelica said businesses within the tourism industry should be looking at streamlining processes, personalising the customer experience, and investing in solutions like digital analytics.
"For example, considering how industry players may hold a trove of useful insights on how the external ecosystem is evolving, their experiences may be beneficial for hotels and airlines to explore potential partnerships," she said.
The Ritz-Carlton Langkawi director of sales and marketing Zulkifli Rahman said the immediate trend that The Ritz-Carlton Langkawi noticed was the jump in domestic travel when the borders were opened, as the majority of locals have a certain amount of fear when travelling overseas but mostly due to the fact that it is much more expensive to travel out of the country nowadays.
"Although we are in the recovery mode, there are still many uncertainties around travel, and we apply compassion and flexibility as much as possible to ensure our guests are well taken care of," he told NST.
"We are optimistic and hopeful that the ASEAN travellers will start to increase this year as we start to welcome more arrivals from Singapore and Indonesia specifically into the island as well as an upward demand of visitors from South and North Asia," he said.
Hyatt Centric Kota Kinabalu general manager Ruben Schrijver expressed optimism about the recovery of the domestic hospitality industry.
He said that as people seek to reconnect, explore new destinations, or revisit reliable favourites, Hyatt Centric Kota Kinabalu is seeing greater demand for premium accommodations at Hyatt hotels at Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.
"Travellers are now prioritising experiences, combining business and leisure, connecting and engaging with the local community and searching for new adventures to meet their curious minds.
"This bodes well with our aim to inspire the young at heart and savvy travellers to discover the rich natural heritage and immersive experiences in the Land Below the Wind, guided by our local Sabahan team at the Hyatt Centric Kota Kinabalu," he said.
He said that as today's travellers are tech savvy and use all the latest technology when they travel, digitisation and sustainability are shaping the travel tech business.
"Contactless travel is now in demand with travellers becoming more and more health conscious and pushing the boundaries of the new normal," Ruben said.
Ab & Artho Tourism Marketing and Public Relations co-founder and chief executive officer Adlina Borhan said the pent-up travel demand after the 2022 recovery stage resulted in more travel spending contributing to tourism receipts, the dynamism of local customers for domestic holidays, return of long-haul flights as airlines return to provide connectivity to holiday destinations.
She said travellers take full advantage of the freedom to travel.
"ASEAN's intra and regional travel will continue to grow, thanks to the airlines and the growing number of low-fare or budget airlines making short-haul travel within the region affordable.
"And, the internet or online technology has made it easy to book plane tickets and hotel accommodation and compare prices for best deals," she said.
Setting Langkawi as an example, Adlina said the island has emerged as one of the world's sought-after holiday destinations, and the tremendous efforts and investments that have been put in over the years, earning awards and accolades, make the island today one of the favourite destinations for local and international travellers both for leisure and business events.
"This must be seriously taken into account, so it does not lose its competitiveness, as Langkawi contributes and has an even greater potential to drive a stronger tourism economy," she said.