Travel

DUBAI: Arabian Travel Market (ATM) has reconfirmed that the 2021 edition of its annual showcase will go ahead in person at the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC).

The event is currently scheduled to start on Sunday, May 16th, with final preparations currently being put in place.

The show will strictly adhere to the health and safety guidelines set by the Dubai government and followed by the venue.

Danielle Curtis, exhibition director, Middle East, Arabian Travel Market, said:  “Dubai is one of the safest cities in the world to visit with a wide range of precautionary measures in place to ensure the safety of tourists at every stage and touchpoint of their travel journey, from arrival to departure.

“More than nine million doses have already been administered in the UAE, which is also a major achievement.”

The theme of this year’s show is ‘A new dawn for travel and tourism and the spotlight will be focused on the very latest Covid-19 news from around the world – vaccine rollouts, social and travel restrictions and as consequence, the current state of the industry and more importantly, what the future holds.

It will also look at the emerging trends and how innovation can drive the industry forward.

The health of the travel and tourism industry is key to the region.

In-person on the show floor, 62 countries represented by main stand holders and sharers will be participating this year.

They include Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Germany, Cyprus, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Italy, Greece, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea, Maldives, the Philippines, Thailand, Mexico, and the USA to name but a few.

Features this year will include Travel Forward at ATM, which will highlight keynote speakers and world-class technology experts, that will provide industry-leading insights about the latest technologies and trends that will undoubtedly shape the future of travel and tourism.

The ATM 2021 conference programme includes the Global Stage which will feature the Hotel Industry Summit and Buyer Forums dedicated to key source markets such as Saudi Arabia, India, and China.

LONDON: The World Travel & Tourism Council’s annual Economic Impact Report today reveals that the dramatic collapse of the UK’s Travel & Tourism sector has wiped out a staggering £148 billion from the UK economy.

The annual EIR from the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), which represents the global Travel & Tourism private sector, shows the sector’s contribution to GDP, dropped by a precipitous 62.3%.

Travel & Tourism GDP fell from £238 billion (10.1%) in 2019 before the pandemic struck, to just £90 billion (4.2%), a mere 12 months later, in 2020.

The year of crippling travel restrictions, and ineffective quarantines, which have brought international travel to a grinding halt, has resulted in the loss of 307,000 Travel & Tourism jobs across the country.

However, WTTC believes the true picture could be significantly worse, if not for government fiscal and liquidity incentives, as well as furlough and job protection schemes which across all sectors is currently protecting more than 11 million jobs, hiding the true extent of the losses and the devastating social impact they could bring.

These job losses were felt across the entire UK Travel & Tourism ecosystem. The number of those employed in the UK Travel & Tourism sector tumbled from 4.27 million in 2019, to 3.96 million in 2020 – a fall of 7.2%.

The report also revealed domestic visitor spending declined by 63.2% due to nationwide lockdowns, while international spending fared even worse, because of stringent travel restrictions, ineffective quarantines and constantly changing government policies, causing a fall of 71.6%.

Gloria Guevara, President & CEO WTTC, said: “The loss of more than 300,000 Travel & Tourism jobs across the UK has had a devastating socio-economic impact, leaving huge numbers of people fearing for their future.

“But the situation could have been far worse if it were not for the government’s prompt action, which introduced job retention schemes to save millions of jobs under threat and helped to halt the total collapse of the Travel & Tourism sector.

“WTTC believes that another year of terrible losses can be avoided if the government supports the swift resumption of international travel, which will be vital to powering the turnaround of the UK economy.

“Our research shows that if  mobility and international travel resumes by June this year, the sector’s contribution to global GDP could rise sharply in 2021, by 48.5%, year-on-year.”

BANGKOK: Ms. Surayyal Hizmi, Lecturer Advisor of the PATA Lombok Tourism Polytechnic Student Chapter, is today named as the 2021 PATA Face of the Future. This is the most prestigious honor open to young tourism professionals in the Asia Pacific region.

PATA Face of the Future is the most prestigious honor open to young tourism professionals in the Asia Pacific region

“This year we received a fantastic list of applicants who could all be worthy of this recognition, and it makes me hopeful not just for the future of the industry but for the future of the world,” said PATA CEO Dr. Mario Hardy.

“On behalf of everyone at the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), I would like to congratulate Surayyal Hizmi on winning the 2021 PATA Face of the Future award. It was inspiring to learn about her passion for sustainability and how she engages with the local community towards this goal. This award will provide her greater exposure in Indonesia and throughout the industry, and I look forward to seeing her career develop as she works in line with PATA for the responsible development of travel and tourism in the region.”

“I am very grateful to receive such a prestigious honor. It is something that I never expected, so thank you so much for this recognition. The real winner of this award is not me but the many people who encouraged me, such as my family and my students who work hard to always support me. This achievement is for them and the many people who have contributed their lives and effort towards sustainable tourism and making this world a better place,” said Ms. Hizmi.

Ms. Surayyal Hizmi is a lecturer at Lombok Tourism Polytechnic, having completed her Master’s Degree in 2017 in Applied Science with a major in Natural Resources Management. Possessing prior knowledge of environmental and natural resource management, and social sciences, Ms. Hizmi’s passion is to apply her knowledge and skills to help local communities and the responsible and sustainable development of travel and tourism in West Nusa Tenggara. Being a lecturer at Lombok Tourism Polytechnic, she was appointed as the Assistant to Vice Director focusing on the National and International Partnership Program.  The concept, skills, and knowledge she has gained will be used for the PATA Lombok Tourism Polytechnic Student Chapter programs such as eco-enzyme and the gallon corner. She is also currently active in several other projects collaborating with LIPI (The Indonesian Institute of Sciences) and the Australian university alumni through the Culinary Festival in Speaker and Bamboo Ecotourism in Sembalun to expand the application of sustainability.

DENPASAR: Bali’s vice governor has proposed for the central government to establish a free Covid-19 corridor, as well as prioritise vaccination for tourism frontliners, in his latest bid to revive the island’s battered tourism sector.

With the reopening of international travel borders recently, Tjokorda Oka Artha Ardhana Sukawati had proposed for the free Covid-19 corridor to be forged with low-risk countries that have implemented mass vaccination, such as China.

Bali looks to welcome vaccinated tourists with travel corridor plan

As Covid-19 infection rates in Indonesia remains high, Tjokorda hopes that the central government would prioritise tourism workers in Bali to get vaccinated first to boost the confidence of international travellers.

Such priority matters, even with Covid-safe protocols in place across the destination, said Tjokorda, who is also the chairman of Indonesia Hotel and Restaurant Association Bali chapter.

The Bali administration has also proposed for the central government to extend a soft loan totalling 9.9 trillion rupiah (US$712 million) to help tourism players in Bali revive their business.

In response, Sandiaga Uno, minister of tourism and creative economy, said that he had delivered Bali’s soft loan proposal to the minister of finance and coordinating minister for the economy.

He added that he had lobbied related officials to prioritise Jakarta and the country’s major destinations, namely, Bali, Batam, and Bintan, to get vaccinated first because they were the entry points for tourists.

The minister said that talks between his office and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Health, and Ministry of Law and Human Rights to make a free Covid-19 corridor was at its final stages. Under the plan, incoming travellers will be exempted from quarantine.

He elaborated: “The plan is that tourists who are allowed to come are those who have been vaccinated at their home countries. (Upon arrival in Indonesia), they have to take an antigen test (and test negative) before they can (proceed to) do activities.”