Asia-Pacific tourism recovery lags, and Russians won’t be coming with flights cancelled over Ukraine crisis, online travel executive says

Tourism in Asia is recovering more slowly than in the rest of the world, and a drop in visitors from Russia, who favour Asian beach resorts, is another drag

However, says Booking.com’s regional director, countries such as Australia and Vietnam reopening to tourists vaccinated against Covid-19 is cause for optimism

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A Finnair plane flies over tourists at Mai Khao beach before landing at the Phuket International Airport in Thailand. Amid a slow pick-up in travel in the Asia-Pacific region, Thai hoteliers want entry rules for foreign tourists made easier. Photo: dpa

Published: 4:15pm, 8 Mar 2022Updated: 12:36pm, 9 Mar 2022

Travel in Asia-Pacific is trailing the rest of the world and should expect a bumpy recovery, a Booking.com executive says, with countries in the region slower to open borders than other destinations.

Given that those in North Asia are still largely restricting entry and countries in Southeast Asia are reopening cautiously, the region’s tourism recovery will not be quick, Laura Houldsworth, the online travel agency’s managing director for Asia-Pacific, said in an interview.

The region should also expect a hit from a drop in arrivals from Russia after its invasion of Ukraine triggered a spike in flight cancellations last month. Beach destinations in Thailand, Indonesia, India and the Maldives are usually popular among Russian tourists.

“Any of these situations will have people rethink their travel plans,” she said, noting that the conflict would have an impact on travel demand among Eastern Europeans in general.

Russian tourists at a beach resort in Phuket, Thailand, in 2020. Asian destinations can expect a big drop in arrivals from Russia amid the economic sanctions imposed for its invasion of Ukraine, a Booking.com executive say. Photo: AFP

Booking.com last week suspended its operations in Russia, joining a host of other Western firms aiming to isolate Moscow. The Amsterdam-based company had stopped all bookings to Russia, Houldsworth said, while outbound travel was expected to “depress significantly”.