As the vaccination rate in some Asean countries accelerate, it is an encouraging sign that the tourism sector may restart soon, especially next year.
People who have completed two doses of Covid-19 vaccine are starting to talk about vacations, with some places in Southeast Asia their main destinations.
More are daring to dream of such a possibility, especially in Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia, with many hoping to see their country achieve herd immunity and get the green light to step out.
Tour operators are eager to get back to work full scale and recover the revenue they lost due to the pandemic.
Amid such positive feelings, Asean members should move forward to once again turn to tourism as a key resource. The connectivity between them, especially tour operators, was already established decades ago and can be further enhanced.
At the same time, Covid-19 has taught everyone to be cautious in making that possibility into reality. This means they don't mind starting with local travel, like what Tim Hughes, vice-president of corporate development at Agoda, said: "When consumers come back, they come back for domestic first: the 'driveable' markets around them, two to three hours outside of their capital city. But then, very quickly, they are prepared to get back on airplanes. We saw that in Thailand, Vietnam and to a lesser extent, Malaysia."
Hughes said these three markets saw domestic destinations that were not in the top 10 before now becoming popular.
"People were keen to get out of cities and into the countryside, up into the highlands or to the beaches. We actually saw a surprising number of people shifting up a star rating. They weren't necessarily looking for the cheapest trip," he said.
AirAsia Malaysia chief executive officer Riad Asmat echoed the same idea. He believes a full recovery in travel demand is possible by the end of next year. This includes more businesses, such as lodging, food and beverage and recreation reopening.
"We foresee a gradual travel and tourism recovery by the end of 2021 and through 2022 thanks to the accelerated vaccine rollout across our key markets in Asean. Travel demand will rebound.
"By the end of next year, we expect to be back to pre-Covid levels due to huge pent-up demand for travel," said Riad.
He was speaking during a webinar hosted by CARI, the Asean Business Club, Asean Business Advisory Council (Asean-BAC) and Asean-BAC Malaysia on the topic "Asean Tourism Webinar 2021: Outlook and Pathways to Recovery".
Moving forward, Asean needs to undertake promotional activities to boost travel between member countries as well as to promote higher tourist traffic from countries outside the region through close cooperation.
An agreement to establish an Asean tourism centre was inked on Sept 28, 1977 involving Singapore, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand.
So we have a key platform here that can be reset to make regional business stronger. None of us will ever forget how badly the pandemic hit Asean. It almost destroyed the annual revenue for the industry, which for many were a bread-and-butter issue.
During a chat on WhatsApp with my old friend Sunarko from Bali recently, I asked how people on the island, especially tour operators and their staff, are surviving.
He replied: "They lost jobs. They are doing whatever they can to earn money. Some become beggars."
Those affected were given social assistance from the authorities in the form of money, but he said it could not cover all their needs.
Sunarko said Bali was an agriculture island first, but changed to depend too much on tourism revenue. And the island has had almost zero tourists for nearly a year. He said the government planned to restart the agriculture sector to have some balance, as well as open the job market for locals to continue life.
The same difficulties were also felt in Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore and here, too. But, there is a saying — bitterness will be followed by sweetness.
It's about time to revive tourism in Asean after a painful period. With prospects for travelling looking bright next year, tourists and tour operators must know their responsibilities under the new normal.
Be responsible, complete your vaccination and follow the standard operating procedures before going out to see the wonderful world again. Fingers crossed, the tourism sector will be back on firm footing shortly.
The writer is NST Foreign Editor
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times