The Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) hosts an online forum titled “Beyond COVID-19: Global Tourism’s New Normal” – the first event of its kind focusing on the post-pandemic tourism prospects for Hong Kong, Mainland, Asia, and the world.
Over 4,000 tourism industry representatives, journalists, and academics registered for the event as global industry leaders share insights into the effects of the coronavirus outbreak on travel, how the industry should respond, and the trends to expect as people begin travelling again in the post-pandemic period.
Dr. YK Pang, Chairman, HKTB
As an industry, our central mission must be to give every traveller the confidence and reassurance that their trip is safe from start to finish. Our cooperation must cross geographical and business boundaries. We must pool our knowledge and expertise and draw on our collective ingenuity to navigate the challenges that lie ahead of us.
Seven internationally-respected speakers representing different sectors discussed the latest consumer sentiments and behaviour, and gave their insights into the challenges confronting the industry.
Steve Saxon, Partner, McKinsey & Company
COVID-19 is a major humanitarian challenge. Yet there are implications for the wider economy and businesses. For instance, USD 0.9 trillion to 1.2 trillion has been lost in export revenues from tourism worldwide. While global tourism may return to previous levels in 2022, China, Indonesia, and the US stand out in optimism, with travel in China coming back to around half of the previous levels currently. However, traveller confidence is still low, and recovery is slower than expected. On the other hand, there is a major opportunity to capitalise on domestic travel and younger and family travellers, as most consumers are expecting to travel less – especially internationally – after COVID-19. China, the UK, and Germany are among those with greatest potential in domestic travel.
Hermione Joye, Sector Lead, Travel & Vertical Search APAC, Google
COVID-19 has led to a generational shift in the way the world operates, the travel industry almost came to a halt with global interest in travel dropping 3 times of that of pre-COVID times (based on search data). As a result, there is no longer a predictable normal when it comes to how consumers behave, and this is particularly true when it comes to the way they are thinking about travel. I am looking forward to sharing trends, consumer insights and principles that could help marketers respond in the ‘new normal’.