Northstar

www.travelweekly-asia.com | 3 TALKING POINT Published by NORTHSTAR TRAVEL MEDIA SINGAPORE PTE LTD SINGAPORE 91 Bencoolen Street, #05-08 Sunshine Plaza, Singapore 189652 • TEL: +65-6801-0450 FAX: +65-6801-0469 BEIJING Room 024, Building 8, Qijiayuan Diplomatic Compound, No.9 Jianguomenwai Street, Chaoyang District 100600, China • TEL: +8610-8532 3611 | FAX: +8610-8532 5293 SHANGHAI Room 2553, The Headquarters Building, No.168 Central XiZhang Road, Shanghai 200001, China • TEL: +8621-5179 8360 | FAX: +8621-5179 8360 Travel Weekly Asia is published on a monthly basis by Northstar Travel Media Singapore Pte Ltd. Located at 91 Bencoolen Street, #05-08 Sunshine Plaza, Singapore 189652. All rights reserved. Volume 11 Issue 2 Please address all subscription mail to the above address, Fax +852 3020 5794, or email travelweeklyasia@asia-ad.net. Online Subscription: www.travelweekly-asia.com/subscribe For reprints or copyright permission contact Travel Weekly Asia at +65 6801 0450 or email to twasia-salesmtg@travelweekly.com Printed by TIMES PRINTERS PRIVATE LIMITED (L007/08/2019) Travel Weekly Asia is BPA audited, with 11,100 print circulation and 24,277 eNewsletter circulation as of Jun 30, 2019. Around the world, BPA is the preferred third-party auditor for advertiser-supported business publications (including print and digital editions). BPA verifies paid, controlled, or any combination of paid and controlled circulation, and reports the data in a single Brand Report. Founded in 1931 BPA Worldwide is an independent, not-for-profit, self-regulating organization governed by a tripartite Board. NORTHSTAR TRAVEL GROUP (ASIA) VICE PRESIDENT/GROUP PUBLISHER, ASIA Irene Chua Tel: (65) 6801 0451 | ichua@travelweekly.com EDITORIAL EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Yeoh Siew Hoon Tel: (65) 6801 0450 | syeoh@ntmllc.com EDITOR-AT-LARGE Ian Jarrett Tel: (618) 9433 6455 | ian.jarrett@travelweekly.com EDITOR Lee Xin Hui Tel: (65) 6801 0453 | xinhui.lee@ntmllc.com REPORTER Naomi Neoh Tel: (65) 6801 0461 | naomi.neoh@ntmllc.com HONG KONG CORRESPONDENT Catharine Nicol | cn@monsterpix.hk MALAYSIA CORRESPONDENT S.S. Yoga | yogasmstravel@gmail.com SINGAPORE CORRESPONDENT Natalie Joy Lee | sg.correspondent@ntmllc.com ART DIRECTOR Lim Bee Bee Tel: (65) 9750 8405 | bb.bbcreative@gmail.com SALES & MARKETING REGIONAL SALES DIRECTOR Ng Whey Whey Tel: (65) 6801 0460 | whey.ng@ntmllc.com REGIONAL ASSISTANT SALES DIRECTOR Kevin Ng Tel: (65) 6801 0459 | kevin.ng@ntmllc.com ASSOCIATE MANAGER, MARKETING AND EVENTS Melanie Ong Tel: (65) 6801 0458 | melanie.ong@ntmllc.com AD TRAFFIC AND PRODUCTION COORDINATOR Rena Koh Tel: (65) 6801 0455 | rena.koh@ntmllc.com IT & DIGITAL DIGITAL/IT OPERATIONS EXECUTIVE Jake Mak Tel: (65) 6801 0464 | jake.mak@ntmllc.com CHINA OFFICE BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR Roger Wang Tel: (8621) 5179 8360 | roger.wang@travelweekly.com MEDIA REPRESENTATIVES HONG KONG/MACAU/TAIWAN ZAM International - Manna Ma Tel: (852) 9731 2090 | manna.ma@ntmllc.com INDIA MHI Communications - Smriti Khanna Tel: (9198) 1040 7483 | skhanna@mhi.com.hk JAPAN R Project Incorporated - Hiroki Fukunaga Tel: (81) 90 4958 0658 | hirokif@rprojectinc.com KOREA Young Media Inc - Keon Chang Tel: (822) 2273 4833 | ymedia@chol.com PHILIPPINES MMPR Media Group, Inc - Marie Monozca Tel: (63) 917 328 7658 | marie@mmprmedia.com AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR - ASIA Patti Mo | patti.mo@travelweekly.com DATABASE & FULFILLMENT MANAGER Zoe Chu | zoe.chu@travelweekly.com FINANCE ASIA FINANCE MANAGER Julia Tham Tel: (65) 6801 0452 | julia.tham@ntmllc.com NORTHSTAR TRAVEL GROUP CHAIRMAN AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Thomas L. Kemp CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER Lisa Cohen PRESIDENT, TRAVEL GROUP Robert G. Sullivan CHIEF DIGITAL OFFICER Matthew Yorke EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT/GROUP PUBLISHER David Blansfield EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT/EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Arnie Weissmann SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, HUMAN RESOURCES Janine L. Bavoso SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT & PRODUCTION Roberta Muller VICE PRESIDENT, INFORMATION PRODUCTS GROUP Sheila Rice VICE PRESIDENT, DATABASE PRODUCTS Elizabeth Koesser TRAVEL WEEKLY EVENTS PRESIDENT, TRAVEL GROUP Robert G. Sullivan EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, TRAVEL GROUP GLOBAL EVENTS Alicia Evanko-Lewis COVER CREDIT(S): TERNG99/ILYA RUMYANTSEV/GETTYIMAGES Siew Hoon is a traveller who loves to write and a writer who loves to travel. She's combined her two loves into a career in travel journalism that has seen her launch several travel industry titles and conferences, including WIT. She loves the change and discovery that comes with travel and the business. New virus, old remedy: Don't panic So, what can I write about the Wuhan coronavirus that hasn't been written about already? How many new cases? How many more infections? How many more countries? What can I write about it and its worst possible timing? That it happened during Lunar New Year, the biggest travel season for China, when millions and millions of Chinese head home for family reunions, and others travel abroad for their holidays, and then you have all the overseas Chinese communities – people like me – also travelling back to our hometowns or for holidays. Literally, masses of people on the move to usher in the Year of the Rat – and what a bad Rat this is, causing such mayhem, mischief and misery. My heart breaks for all those families who were unable to have their annual reunions this year. The short-term impact on tourism will for sure be hard. The ban on group tours, as well as the suspension of sales of packages of hotels and airlines tickets, will be felt across the world, more so in Asia of course. Thailand, Japan, Singapore, Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia – every country in the region has grown to depend on China for visitors and their shopping. I wonder what package China will put together to resuscitate its inbound tourism after this Wuhan scare blows over. Last year, at its 20th anniversary, Trip.com Group's chairman James Liang gave a passionate speech about championing inbound tourism to China, saying for a country of its size, China was punching below its weight. He pointed out the pain points to work on – visas, Internet access, payments and lack of English – as well as an image problem, saying it is vague with no strong selling point, it is deemed not safe and heavily polluted, it is perceived to be distant and strange, strong but unsociable and "for some people, threatening". Well, it will now have even more work to do post-Wuhan. Just as health authorities around the world are working to contain the virus, travel industry players are working to contain the damage. The good thing is, we have been through this before with the SARS crisis of 2003. True, every virus is different, but we can use lessons learnt during 2003. One, don't panic. Let it blow over, let the authorities do their work, and then you do your work. And that means putting in place the right measures and procedures to keep employees and customers safe, preparing for the day of recovery, building up confidence of travellers and when they return, welcome them with joy. Two, don't stop doing your necessary work. During the height of the SARS crisis, I recall travelling to Hong Kong to run an event, on the condition that I did a self-quarantine at home on return to Singapore. Three, don't stop travelling. During the SARS crisis, I joined a cruise out of Barcelona and the only condition I had to agree to was to have my temperature checked every morning, since I came from a SARS- affected country. Fortunately, the doctor was very good looking. And that helped me start my day right.

• Cover