JOURNEY TO THE

New Home Of Turkish Airlines

The airline that flies to more countries than any other awaits you in the world’s new aviation center

Istanbul Airport

Up until the end of the first half of 2023, at the time when this issue is out, the travel and tourism industry continues to flourish. Some destinations like Phuket and Bali would have already reached the numbers of tourist arrivals that match the pre-pandemic levels. Last May 2023, Malaysia announced that the country might be able to receive 16.1 million tourist arrivals by year end, barring any untoward incident. Though this is still a far cry from the over 26 million international tourist arrivals chalked up in 2019, the Malaysian government forecasts that the travel and tourism industry would continue to grow more than the 10 million international tourist arrivals recorded in 2022.

However, there are still headwinds faced by the industry to reach the optimum level. International flight ticket prices remain stubbornly high, one reason due to the insufficient airplanes flying to meet the high demand, while the other reason due to the higher aviation fuel cost considering the Russia-Ukraine war and various geopolitical risks hold sway on the price of fuel. Many countries are reeling under high inflation, affecting the purchasing power of the citizens because they now have to pay more for essentials like food and energy, consequently lessening their disposable income and depleting the money they would have spent on travel. To manage inflation, many governments decide to raise interest rates, resulting in the increase of borrowing costs among businesses and consumers who commit themselves to the variable loan rates, hence they need to pay more to service those borrowings, further reducing their propensity to travel. Advanced economies outside Asia are expected to slow down, therefore countries depending on these advanced economies for exports and tourist arrivals might not be able to sell as much as before, thereby cutting into revenue and income. All in all, expect a general worldwide slowdown in 2023 that could affect the travel and tourism industry.

But having that said, we see that there is still demand for domestic and international travel and tourism. Interest in travel remains high among the public despite the increase in costs because people still consider travelling as a huge enhancement to their quality of life - albeit to closer destinations and at lesser frequency. The higher cost of travelling might push travellers to seek out better quality and value to ensure that the money used for travel is judiciously spent. Countries in Asia would want to maintain and even intensify their domestic tourism promotions, while at the same time boosting tourist arrivals from the neighbouring countries and throughout Asia plus the Asia-Pacific region to take advantage of their proximity, easier connectivity and improved accessibility through visa on arrival facility. The use of biometric passports among travellers is a boon considering selected foreign travellers can now use autogates for fast immigration clearance at the airports of the countries they are visiting. Despite the headwinds, those who can afford are sure to continue travelling. As the economy improves later in the year and into the future, the number of people travelling is bound to increase. Let’s pray there are no more calamities coming our way that could derail the advancement of travel and tourism for the remainder of 2023 and beyond.

And to assist you in coming up with ideas on where to go in Malaysia and beyond, be sure to check out the destinations covered in this issue. Turns out that we are featuring a number of destinations in Malaysian Borneo like Miri (page 62); Sibu and Mukah (page 70); Santubong and Bau; Kuching (page 86); and Hyatt Centric Kota Kinabalu (page 124). Other noteworthy destinations are Pontian in Johor (page 21); Victoria in Australia (page 37); Danang in Vietnam (page 44); the outskirts of Taipei in Taiwan (page 54); Ipoh in Perak (page 92); and selected destinations in Selangor and Negeri Sembilan (page 98). Remember to check out our stories on Bulgari Resort Bali (page 110) and Kappa Senses Ubud (page 116) too for ideas on where to stay when you are in the Island of the Gods.

Safe travels, and see you all in the next issue...

JUHAN KAMARUDDIN@JEREMY KHALIL

VISIT ASIA's FIRST UNESCO GLOBAL GEOPARK