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Coordinated Global and Regional Response to COVID-19

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Governments have been called on to agree a coordinated global and regional response to the COVID-19 pandemic to protect the future of the travel sector and tourism recovery.

Speaking in the latest in a series of Hon. Edmund Bartlett Lectures, leading industry academic and industry figures warned against countries becoming isolationist and protectionist.

The online event earlier this month discussed ‘Geopolitics and the Coronavirus’ and was broadcast globally across 28 media platforms reaching a total audience of 80,000 viewers.

Minister Bartlett, the Jamaican Tourism Minister, said countries must identify long-term sustainable strategies and resist taking one-dimensional approaches to tackling the pandemic.

“We must promote freedom, new public private partnerships,” he said. “Today, we have seen the light at the end of the tunnel.

“Tourism is the great equalizer, it enables societies to interact, builds the capacity to tolerate, creates new norms and reinforces the way forward through respect and tolerance.”

Sir Hillary Beckles, vice chancellor of the University of the West Indies said the Caribbean had set an “excellent example” placing science at the center of its response.

He said this had “unfortunately” been largely overlooked by the global media, and called for the free movement of people, on which the region relies, to be protected.

“We must address the legacies of our vulnerabilities, wherein cultures and peoples are respected, and the free movement of peoples can continue,” he said. 

“We are dealing with the relationship between internationalism and nationalism where fundamental decisions are made at the nation state level. 

“Tourism is located precisely at the center of a contest,  a contest between how a nation seeks to handle policy decisions within the context of an industry that is deeply local but realizing that success can only come at the global level.”

Sir Hillary added that in tacking COVID-19, climate change and chronic disease, multilateral and not bilateral, solutions are required.

“A multidimensional approach is needed for the tourism sector which is deeply globalized,” he added.

“Tourism is at the intersection between the politics of globalization and the economics of nationalism.

“Seeing that the travel model is under enormous stress, we must commit to a multidimensional model where we allow tourism to thrive in a post COVID environment.

“We will have to speak about innovation, to change to a multidimensional model centered around world peace, world freedom, new tourism products and new access to value to allow this industry to have its greatest impact.”

Ambassador Young-shim Dho, chair of the United Nations SDGS Advocate Alumini, praised South Korea’s response to the pandemic.

She said full lockdowns can only work where governments retain trust among citizens that they will test, trace and treat, and guarantee the supply of adequate protective equipment.

And the ambassador added a COVID-19 vaccine must be made available equitably and affordably around the globe, echoing demands made at the United Nations General Assembly and proposals being put forward by the WTTC (World Travel and Tourism Council).

“G20 or G8 countries cannot be allowed to hold vaccines when available, so governments need to come together to plan accordingly,” she said.  

Speaking about the pandemic response in Africa, Professor James Kungu, executive director of the Global Travel, Resilience and Crisis Management Centre (GTRCMC) at Kenyatta University, Kenya said:

“Africa will have to focus on innovation and technology, while in the short term focus must be on domestic and regional tourism development.

“We will need to foster resilience, specifically through safety and security as well as crisis communication and communication of the African image.

“COVID-19 has put the issue of globalization in the center of the conversation.  Tourism is an expression of freedom but with the current situation it is driving the movement towards deglobalization.”

Prof Kungu called for collaboration within the continent of Africa to create a greater sense of solidarity and increase the trust between regions that have been in conflict.

“Tourism can promote solidarity and trust in geo conflict zones, therefore this aspect of geopolitics needs to be in the conversation to bring people together.

“Tourism can play an especially important role to move forward. Fragmentation across the continent must be addressed. 

“There is light at the end of the tunnel.  We have not been impacted as badly [by COVID-19] as we could have been. God has been on our side.”

Europe has become more insular and localized as the result of COVID-19, said Lee Miles, professor of crisis management and disaster recovery at Bournemouth University.

And he said this has compounded the negative impact on tourism of existing issues like migration, Brexit and the free movement of people.

Prof Miles called for government to balance business and economic resilience with safety and avoid protectionist policies that are not beneficial to travel and tourism.

“We need to move away from covid-19 being a crisis and towards it being a part of sustainable development agenda in a COVID endemic world,” he said.

“The state has been central to the way we deal with globalized threats, but these needs and measures have not been seen before. 

“Crisis management pandemic plans had to be adapted which has forced the countries of Europe to become very localized. We have gone into an insular perspective.

“This is down to geopolitics with negative impact on tourism, a central feature being the trimming of globalization, particularly on the free movement of people. 

“European governments have been influenced by the geopolitical issues of migration, Brexit, and COVID-19 non-compliance.”  

The Edmund Bartlett lecture was organized by the GTRCMC in partnership with the Global Travel and Tourism Resilience Council, the Tourism Enhancement Fund and the Tourism Linkages Council.

It was chaired by Professor Lloyd Waller, GTRCMC executive director. “Governments have been forced to make difficult decisions, naturally choosing national interests over global interests which has led to increased insularity,” he said. Rebuilding.travel is a partner with GTRCM.

#rebuildingtravel

MEDIA CONTACT: Jamaica Ministry of Tourism, Corporate Communications, 64 Knutsford Boulevard, Kingston 5, Tel: 920-4926-30, Fax: 920-4944

Jamaica exploring more air connectivity in Europe post-Brexit

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Minister of Tourism, Hon Edmund Bartlett, says Jamaica is actively exploring additional air connectivity options out of Europe, in light of the United Kingdom (UK) leaving the European Union – which is more popularly known as Brexit. The decision for the UK to leave the European Union (EU) was made in 2016 through a referendum.

Minister Bartlett made the announcement following a meeting yesterday with several key representatives of the EU to Jamaica yesterday at his New Kingston office. The countries represented were Germany, Spain, France and Belgium.
“We are taking a proactive step to ensure that air connectivity between Jamaica and Europe remains robust and consistent given the possibility that our current main gateway from that area – the United Kingdom – may leave the European Union.

England’s departure from the EU will impact not just Jamaica but the region and so these discussions are timely and critical,” said Minister Bartlett.

On average, Jamaica welcomes over 300 thousand European visitors annually. Last year, 328 thousand Europeans visited the island.

High on the list of topics discussed was the need for a market analysis, including stopovers from low cost European airlines and main market for European visitors to Jamaica, to inform the possibility of an EU Air Services Agreement. It was also noted that there was precedent for such an agreement, specifically the 2007 USA/EU Air Transport Agreement.

Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Jamaica, Ambassador Malgorzata Wasilewska, who lead discussions on behalf of the EU representatives, noted that, “The United Kingdom has been the historical and traditional door to Europe for Jamaica and with Brexit most likely to take place, there is interest in strengthening relations with Jamaica and the remaining 27 EU Member States to better engage the markets and people of those countries.”

Ambassador Wasilewska also noted that she would seek further information on a framework within which a collective air services agreement could be pursued by early September.

Minister Bartlett also said, “We will continue bilateral negotiations with individual EU Member States for increased air connectivity between Europe and Jamaica which will include discussions with large carriers from Europe to bridge gaps between the commercial interests, including code sharing arrangements.”

MEDIA CONTACT: Jamaica Ministry of Tourism, Corporate Communications, 64 Knutsford Boulevard, Kingston 5, Tel: 920-4926-30, Fax: 920-4944

Brexit has not deterred business travelers in the UK

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UK’s 2018 Hotels Market Report shows that the UK regional capitals are performing strongly with overall room nights booked growing by 8% across the top 250 UK cities.

London continues to be business travelers’ favorite capital for work trips with 663,000 room nights booked in 2018, an increase of 5% when compared to 2017. But Edinburgh experienced the highest level of growth in 2018 with room nights booked increasing by 16%, Belfast was up 13% and Cardiff up 5%.

The 2018 Hotels Market Report analyses data from corporate hotel bookings made between January and December 2018 by Advantage’s TMC members, who represent around 40% of the UK business travel sector, highlighting business travel trends and booking behaviour.

The report also shows significant growth for cities in the Midlands and North East, with Derby seeing the highest growth with 31% more booked room nights compared to 2017, while York, Nottingham and Gateshead also saw double-digit percentage increases.

Top Ten UK Cities – Booked Room Night Percentage Increase (year-on-year), January – December 2018

1. Derby – 31%
2. York – 22%
3. Plymouth – 21%
4. Inverness – 20%
5. Nottingham – 18%
6. Edinburgh – 16%
7. Reading – 15%
8. Belfast – 13%
9. Norwich – 11%
10. Gateshead – 10%

Global Results

The business world continues to travel widely, with the 2018 Hotels Report recording that hotel demand remains strong in many international cities with New York, Auckland, Wellington, Houston, Paris and Sydney topping the Advantage Top Cities list. In total, worldwide volume grew by over 393,000 room nights, a total increase of 8.74% compared to 2017, indicating that SME (Small and Medium Enterprise) corporate accounts, in which Advantage TMCs specialise, continue to perform strongly.

The total number of bookings made by Advantage business travel members in 2018 saw similar growth – up 8.76% – while the average length of stay remained constant, at 1.87 nights. Increased demand and higher occupancy globally meant hotel rates have increased by US$2 to an average daily rate (ADR) of US$169.41.

The report also looks at trends on bookings and ADR for cities and locations around the world, with New York once again topping the list as the highest volume worldwide city outside the UK, with 90,799 room nights booked at an average rate of US$395.97 per night. Increases were also seen in Bangalore (up 54%), Kuala Lumpur (up 36%) and Boston (up 27%).

The corporate hotel sector continues to grow, with another significant increase in bookings year-on-year, made by independent TMCs. Despite continued uncertainty in both the global and UK economies including Brexit, hotel room night demand is at record levels in many destinations. Although not all destinations in Britain saw an increase in room nights booked, ADR remained strong.

The report is representative of hotel bookings made across most of the major international and independent hotel groups including: Accor, Apex Hotels, Choice Hotels, Citadines, Clayton Hotels, Design Hotels, The Doyle Collection, Edwardian Hotels, glh Hotels, Hallmark Hotels, Hilton, HotelREZ, Hyatt, House of Daniel Thwaites, IHG, Jurys Inn & Leonardo Hotels, Loews Hotels, Macdonald Hotels, Maldron Hotels, Melia Hotels International, Millennium Hotels & Resorts, The Montcalm Hotels, NH Hotels, O’Callaghan Collection, Omni, Park Plaza, Pegasus, QHotels, Quest, Rotana, Radisson Hotel Group, Sabre Hospitality, Small Luxury Hotels, TravelClick, Travelodge, Village Hotels Club, WorldHotels Collection and Wyndham Hotel Group.

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Brexit uncertainty, but LHR is doing well

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Despite Brexit uncertainty, Heathrow remains a bright light for the UK, with the role we play in keeping people and products moving evident. Our new domestic connections will be pivotal in linking more regions and nations to global opportunities, benefiting all corners of this great country and we look forward to announcing many more of these as part of the expansion programme,”  Heathrow CEO John Holland-Kaye said

  • Heathrow’s passenger numbers continued to climb in March, with over 6.5 million passengers travelling through the UK’s only hub airport, ringing in the 29th consecutive month of record growth for the airport. Notable spikes in the previous month were St Patricks and Mother’s Day, attitudes towards travel remain strong despite ongoing uncertainty around Brexit’.
  • Africa performed especially well over the past month, increasing by 6.2% compared to the same time last year. Domestic connections also saw a slight uplift (+0.2%) with British Airways launching its 2nd service to Inverness and Flybe growing their loads by more than a fifth (23%) with an inaugural flight to Cornwall on March 31.
  • More than 149,000 metric tonnes of cargo travelled through the UK’s biggest port by value, further demonstrating the importance of Heathrow in a post Brexit world.
  • Both Latin America and Africa saw remarkable double digit growth with the former up 23% on 2018 due to additional services to Brazil and increased volumes to Mexico. Freight to and from Africa grew by 11%, thanks to Virgin’s growth on routes to the continent.
  • Two of Heathrow’s Terminals made it into the top five globally, with Terminal 5 taking top spot. In addition, Heathrow was voted amongst the world’s top 10 airports overall and won “Best airport in Western Europe” and “World’s Best Airport Shopping”.
  • In March, Heathrow launched the airport’s new Innovation Prize to fund ideas and solutions addressing aviation environmental impact. The prize is sponsored by Heathrow’s new Centre of Excellence for Sustainability, which connects experts and offers Heathrow as a living laboratory to test and develop ideas that encourage sustainable aviation.
  • The expansion project reached another significant milestone, as the names and locations of the 18 shortlisted sites in the running to become offsite construction centres for Britain’s new runway were revealed. Shortlisted sites will now pitch to airport bosses for their chance to become one of the final four construction centres, to be announced early next year.
  • Heathrow announced the launch of their 10th domestic route. The route is operated by Flybe and links the hub airport to Cornwall in Newquay for the first time since 1997.

Heathrow CEO John Holland-Kaye said:

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IATA Report: Aviation continues to deliver solid

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The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced global passenger traffic results for February 2019 showing total revenue passenger kilometers (RPKs) rose 5.3%, compared to February 2018. This was the slowest rate of growth in more than a year but still in line with long-term demand trends. Monthly capacity (available seat kilometers or ASKs) increased by 5.4%, and load factor slipped 0.1 percentage point to 80.6%, which is still high by historic standards.

“After January’s strong performance, we settled down a bit in February, in line with concerns about the broader economic outlook. Continuing trade tensions between the US and China, and unresolved uncertainty over Brexit are also weighing on the outlook for travel,” said Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s Director General and CEO.

February 2019
(% year-on-year)		 World share1 RPK ASK PLF
(%-pt)2		 PLF
(level)3
Total Market 100.0% 5.3% 5.4% -0.1% 80.6%
Africa 2.1% 2.8% 1.1% 1.1% 70.4%
Asia Pacific 34.5% 6.3% 5.8% 0.4% 82.6%
Europe 26.7% 7.3% 7.7% -0.3% 81.5%
Latin America 5.1% 5.0% 5.5% -0.4% 81.3%
Middle East 9.2% -0.9% 2.7% -2.6% 72.6%
North America 22.4% 4.2% 3.9% 0.3% 80.8%

 

nternational Passenger Markets

February international passenger demand rose 4.6% compared to February 2018, which was a slowdown from 5.9% growth in January. Capacity climbed 5.1%, and load factor dropped 0.4 percentage point to 79.5%. Airlines in all regions but the Middle East showed traffic growth versus the year-ago period.

  • European carriers showed the strongest performance for a fifth consecutive month in February. Passenger demand increased by 7.6%, compared to a year ago, unchanged from January. Europe’s continuing strong performance provides a paradox given Brexit concerns and signs of a softer economic outlook. Capacity rose 8.0% and load factor slid 0.3 percentage point to 82.3%, which still was the highest among regions.
  • Asia-Pacific airlines’ February traffic rose 4.2% compared to the year-ago period, a substantial slowdown from the 7.2% increase recorded in January. The timing of the Lunar New Year holiday in the first week of February this year may have shifted some traffic to January. Capacity increased 4.7% and load factor dipped 0.3 percentage point to 81.0%.
  • Middle East carriers recorded a 0.8% traffic decline in February compared to a year ago, the only region to report a drop year-over-year. Capacity rose 2.9% and load factor fell 2.7 percentage points to 72.6%. Broadly speaking, passenger volumes of the region’s airlines have been moving sideways for the past 12 – 15 months.
  • North American airlines’ traffic climbed 4.2% in February, a decline from 5.4% growth in January. Capacity rose 2.9% and load factor was up 1.0 percentage point to 79.0%. Signs of softening economic activity at the end of 2018, in conjunction with the effects of ongoing tensions between the US and several of its trading partners, may be mitigated by the region’s low unemployment and generally sound economic backdrop.
  • Latin American airlines saw traffic rise 4.3% compared to February 2018, a slippage from 5.4% annual growth in January. Capacity increased by 5.6%, and load factor dropped 1.0 percentage point to 81.4%. Renewed economic and political uncertainties in a number of key countries may weigh upon air transport demand in coming months.
  • African airlines experienced a 2.5% rise in traffic for the month compared to the year-ago period, down from 5.1% growth in January. Concerns over conditions in the largest economies are contributing to the slowdown. Capacity rose 0.3%, and load factor climbed 1.5 percentage points to 69.7%.

Domestic Passenger Markets

Domestic travel demand rose 6.4% in February compared to February 2018, down from 7.4% annual growth in January. All markets except Australia reported increases in traffic, with India recording its 54th consecutive month of double-digit percentage growth. Domestic capacity climbed 5.8%, and load factor edged up 0.5 percentage point to 82.4%.

 

  • China topped the growth chart for a second month in a row, with RPKs up a strong 11.4% year-on-year, although this was down from 14.5% growth in January compared to a year ago.
  • Brazil’s domestic traffic increased 5.8% in February, compared to a year ago, the fastest pace in more than six months and more than double the 2.6% year-over-year rise for January. Brazil was the only domestic market tracked by IATA to show an increase in the year-on-year growth rate compared to January 2019.

The Bottom Line

“While overall economic confidence appears to be softening, aviation continues to deliver solid results, helping to sustain global commerce and the movement of people. The Brexit deadline has come and gone with no separation agreement, but with vital air connectivity between the UK and the Continent maintained for the present. Temporary measures, however, are no substitute for a comprehensive Brexit package that will ensure that the Business of Freedom is able to play its vital role in contributing to the well-being of the region—and the world,” said de Juniac.

Read the full February Passenger Traffic Analysis  (pdf)

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