Northstar

www.travelweekly-asia.com | 3 INDUSTRY VOICES Subhas Menon joined the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines in March 2020. Subhas has over 35 years' experience in international aviation with the Singapore Airlines Group, having served in a wide spectrum of roles including international & government relations, marketing, product development, logistics, country and regional management. 14 CONTENTS 7 FUTURE OF TRAVEL: TRAVEL AGENTS Agents play key role in post-pandemic world 11 FUTURE OF TRAVEL: CRUISE Industry without agents like pancakes without maple syrup 12 FUTURE OF TRAVEL: DESTINATION MARKETING Lights, camera, action! 14 DESTINATION: HONG KONG The city takes steps to get back into spotlight Let the world fly again The parked aircraft at airports around the world are a dramatic reminder that things we took for granted are now a memory. This crisis is much larger than aviation, though. It is a global crisis of vast proportions. The pandemic is also taking a toll on the global economy, trade, tourism, supply chains and livelihoods. Aviation supports one- third of international trade and every one job in aviation supports 24 other jobs in the wider economy. The global economy is expected to be worse hit this year than during the global financial crisis in 2009, while tourism is expected to decline by as much as 80%. The gravest risk which governments across the world are working hard to mitigate is the damage done to livelihoods in terms of jobs and essential food supplies. Employment together with wages witnessed continuous growth in the last decade but is now severely affected by the disruption to business and social life, caused by restrictions to mobility. Supply chains that contribute substantially to global GDP and employ billions of people, depend on aviation without which it would be difficult to safeguard people's health. The urgent need to restart aviation, kick start business activity and social life, to avert a looming humanitarian crisis, cannot be overstated. The last time there was no civil aviation to speak of was 75 years ago. The world came together to create the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and forged the Chicago Convention to start civil aviation as we know it today. The world is again at a crossroads, and needs another Himalayan effort by governments, international organisations, the aviation industry, as well as public health professionals to unite and resolve the present constraints to human mobility. This pandemic will take time to abate. We cannot wait for it to recede before rebooting aviation and reaping the benefits again. We must learn to adapt to the 'new normal' to recreate an aviation network virtually from scratch. Restrictions have been imposed to stem the spread of the virus. Governments should be inclined to relax restrictions when the spread is contained. Cross-border flights can only resume in earnest when travel bans are relaxed by governments, albeit with mitigations in place. Part of the response will be to reassure travellers that standardised and sensible precautions have been established to safeguard their journey. Travel restrictions and quarantine requirements are demand suppressants; their relaxation will reignite the confidence in air travel. With COVID-19 first being discovered in Asia and several countries in the region now witnessing a stabilisation of the spread of the virus, it is clear that Asia can start the process of resuming cross-border travel. We should applaud the efforts of governments that are coming together to discuss the resumption of flights to jumpstart their economies. Measures that are practical, user-friendly, recommended by medical experts and consistently applied will rekindle trust in flying. COVID-19 unites the world in adversity. It is time for us all to stand shoulder to shoulder under the auspices of ICAO and the WHO, and make it possible for the world to fly again. Above: Aviation showing early signs of recovery. Left: Buffets may be a thing of the past. Below: Macau shows its sporty side. 6 4

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