Travel bounces back after crisis

A reliable economic buffer, the global travel and trade industry may be crises-prone, but it easily rebounds. And just how easily depends on how sturdy and fused the various sector’s efforts to put the business back on its feet.

Considering the dramatic pas de deux of nasty events like war, terrorism and, most recently, SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome), nobody thought that the badly injured industry would be able to recover very fast.

Don A.R. Birch, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of the Singapore-based Abacus International, is ultra optimistic that the travel trade industry will be ever-resilient despite some down sides.

Abacus International is Asia-Pacific’s leading Global Distribution System (GDS) and Computerized Reservations System (CRS) that offers an entirely built-in one-stop-shop for all travel booking needs that include airlines, hotels, car rentals, cruises and other tourism-related firms.

As the guest speaker during the 2nd Tourism Press Corps, Inc.’s forum held at the Adam Room of the Mandarin Hotel in Makati City, Birch presented the nature of travel in Asia Pacific, how the industry always manages to find its way back after being blown over repeatedly, and what the key industry players and movers like Abacus can do to help the industry thrive and survive.

After the 9/11 shock, most businesses closed shop and trade was on a plateau. The Gulf War went off and briefly corked terrorism but soon enough SARS rolled up and mortified everyone’s wits – from China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Vietnam to Canada and beyond.

The upshoot was a peerless panicky airline and hotel booking cancellations – every kind of trade there is seemed to have gone flat!

As for the CRS genius Birch, travel is a hard-wearing industry that picks up quickly. “There’s a pretty sordid pattern at how people react after an incident. But the bottom line is travel does always recover from three months onward,” Birch said.

“History has shown us time and again that the travel industry is a resilient one, even in times of war and outbreak. The resilience occurs fastest when the industry is proactively working together,” Birch advised.

Birch, who spent most of his life in Asia, said the regional travel trend had changed even before SARS came into the picture.

According to Birch, 1) travel has become more of a necessity than a luxury; 2) over-all industry economics go through a major chaotic period; and 3) given a never-ending series of events including SARS, it is crucial to deal with traveler confidence.

Even before Sept. 11 when the travel industry was just taking off again, regional airline bookings registered at 90 percent. After the terror attack, it went flat as most flights were cancelled, records of the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) revealed.

After the Iraq war and SARS, 70 percent of regional bookings were cancelled and travel from Asia dipped completely with the exception of Japan and the United States.

Surprisingly, people’s interest in travel never waned despite the cost, the troubles and the risks. Travel, according to Birch, is becoming more and more of an emotional buy, like traveler always opts for value-for-money, favors a reliable travel representative and prefers to be able to make a sensible assessment of what is he/she getting into.

What can industry players and front-liners do to give travelers peace of mind and assurance that the trip is safe, a good pick and worth it?

Since we cannot rule out that the 9/11 and Bali attacks, the Iraq war and the SARS syndrome will not happen again, the best way for everyone to deal with such uncertainties is to be fully equipped with all the travel know-how one can get from a legitimate source.

And what are the things that will keep up the travel trade industry on the survival mode?

Abacus recently came up with a snappy measure to alert the key industry players and even travelers on what’s up and where.

Abacus recently launched the Travel Smart Asia Watch to give travelers, and most of all the travel agents as front-liners, the right tools to help restore the confidence of the traveling public.

“Travel Smart Asia is a monthly newsletter that highlights issues and trends aimed to keep fingers on the pulse of the industry. There is also the Travel Smart Asia eBytes, a twice monthly email burst that offers a comprehensive source of news and industry updates,” Birch announced.

The industry will also benefit from Travel Smart since discussions with travel partners on current major topics will be posted here.

Previously, Abacus had already posted updates about the war in Iraq and SARS, and will be adding even more localized content to Travel Smart Asia in the coming weeks.