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TWA_MAYJUN_2020

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2 | www.travelweekly-asia.com 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 3 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 SENIOR EDITOR Xinyi Liang-Pholsena Tel: (66) 8 6841 5885 | xinyi.liang@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 SINGAPORE CORRESPONDENT Natalie Joy Lee | sg.correspondent@ntmllc.com HONG KONG CORRESPONDENT Catharine Nicol | cn@monsterpix.hk THAILAND CORRESPONDENT Tom Racette |stracette@gmail.com MALAYSIA CORRESPONDENT S.S. Yoga | yogasmstravel@gmail.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 EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Yeoh Siew Hoon 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): CQYOUNG/NASTCO/KINGWIN/ILDA-VOODA/GETTYIMAGES Arnie Weissmann has been involved in virtually every aspect of travel jour- nalism, publishing and media for the past 25 years. His writing has won more than 40 national awards, he created the industry's first destination information service (Weissmann Reports), authored a best-selling textbook and has served as publisher of critical hotel and destination guides for the travel industry. The post-Covid future: Transformational travel transformed The most successful species in the insect world are those that transform throughout their lives into different stages of being. And the insect that is often the symbol of transformation is the butterfly. The Covid-19 crisis has forced dramatic change upon all of us, so indulge me as I apply the butterfly metaphor to travel: We're in the cocoon stage. Prior to the virus, the travel industry had already evolved from observational products to authentic, then experiential, then immersive and finally transformational offerings. Consumers had become hungry caterpillars, enabled by ease of movement and access to new environments. In more places, however, hosts began to regard visitors as an invasive species, displacing and despoiling rather than enriching local ecosystems. So -- was it only a few months ago? -- we appeared to be at the confluence of enlightenment and scourge. One branch of the movement focused on self- improvement through immersion in unfamiliar cultures and landscapes. The other actively sought meaning in their own lives by including volunteer efforts that contributed to a destination's well-being. There are indications that our chrysalis stage may be nearing its end, as destinations, resorts and cruise lines begin putting out timelines for reopening. What emerges as the "new normal" in travel will go beyond the introduction of health protocols. Those will be transitional. What will also emerge will be a new trajectory for the industry. It's my hope that plans for the resumption of travel reflect consideration about ways we can avoid treading the same paths that may have been profitable but ultimately self-defeating. Changes in traveller sentiment post-Covid may be hard to predict but there are clues as we're all undergoing what may be the largest extended shared global experience in humankind's history. There are shared limitations to our movements and to the functions of our professional lives. We have, in common, empathy for the suffering of those directly impacted, concern for the unemployed, sadness for disrupted lives, sympathy for those whose dreams were derailed on the cusp of fulfillment. Appreciation for those on the front lines. Many of us are biding time or, in our businesses, buying time. How all of this will change our thoughts about travelling will vary by individual, but I suspect that transformational travel will evolve into what could be called "renewal" tourism. Post-Covid, there will be more appreciation for what had been taken for granted and a determination not to mess up again. Our extended period in close proximity with our families will, I hope, manifest in a greater awareness of our roles as custodians of the planet that we're leaving our children. Destinations that offer a clean environment and compelling culture, ones that organically enable travellers to renew, rebalance, readjust and redefine, will characterise the new transformative travel. The industry, too, is in need of renewal. To emerge from our cocoon as something more beautiful than before will require that concepts we have always promoted -- authenticity, sustainability, community support -- transform from marketing buzzwords into operating philosophies. That's my hoped-for butterfly effect.

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