PATA Examines the Impact of Health and Hygiene on Post COVID-19 Destination Competitiveness in Asia Pacific
BANGKOK, September 16, 2020 -- Many of the significant considerations taken into account by consumers when selecting travel destinations are health-related; while at the same time, there is an overall positive resident sentiment about travel and tourism in the Asia Pacific region above global averages, with most residents ready to welcome visitors again with due attention to the traveller impact on environment and cleanliness.
These are some of the results from the recently launched report, The Impact of Health and Hygiene on post COVID-19 Destination Competitiveness in Asia Pacific, published by the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) with contributions from the cofounders of the Global Health Security (GHS) Index, a project of the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) and the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security (JHU); TCI Research, Tripadvisor, and the World Economic Forum.
“Despite much remaining unknown about the future of travel post COVID-19, this timely report highlights emerging trends about health and hygiene in travel and tourism concerning traveller booking behaviour and resident sentiment,” said PATA Chief of Staff Trevor Weltman. “Such insights can assist destination managers and marketers get ahead of the curve to rethink, rebuild, and reposition their destination’s focus on health and hygiene beginning now.”
This report recommends that destination managers and other tourism stakeholders across the Asia Pacific region begin creating close partnerships with public health officials, tourism supply chain businesses, and local communities to commence a coordinated renewal of traveller confidence in the health and safety of their destination. Destinations that meet these expectations through investing in hygiene and safety measures and clearly communicate these changes to travellers and residents alike, will be well-positioned to win in the post COVID-19 travel era.
The methods of analysis used in the report include social listening, sentiment analysis, and surveying. Furthermore, Part III of the report, which provides a destination competitiveness analysis, is a re-weighting of the “Health & Hygiene” pillar of the World Economic Forum’s 2019 Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI). The TTCI is a world-leading T&T index comprising four subindexes, 14 pillars and 90 individual indicators that benchmarks T&T competitiveness of 140 economies to measure the factors and policies that enable the sustainable development of the sector.
Ultimately, multi-sectoral coordination between ministries of health, agriculture, tourism, and trade, and communication of the outcomes of these policy actions to the broader community, including travellers, will be critical to meeting these goals and restoring confidence in the tourism industry. “These preliminary findings are shared to provide an enhanced understanding of where the industry is heading, as well as an initial roadmap for how to get there,” added Mr. Weltman.
To learn more about the report, please join the PTM Forum on “The Impact of Health and Hygiene on Post-COVID-19 Destination Competitiveness in Asia Pacific”, on Friday, September 25, 2020 at 1600 ICT as part of Virtual PTM 2020 and hear from Olivier Henry-Biabaud, Founder & CEO, TCI Research; Fabrizio Orlando, Global Industry Relations Associate Director, Tripadvisor; Jessica A. Bell, Senior Program Officer, Nuclear Threat Initiative, and Maksim Soshkin, Research and Analysis Specialist, Aerospace, Aviation, Travel and Tourism, World Economic Forum.
Register for the webinar at
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_JxIY_2Y8QDuE6vQS9a3ONg.
Access to the webinar is open to all Virtual PTM 2020 delegates, PATA members, media, non-members and all interested parties.
The report is now available on the PATA Crisis Resource Center at crc.PATA.org.
About the Global Health Security Index
The GHS Index was developed by
Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI)
NTI is a nonpartisan, non-profit global security organization focused on reducing nuclear and biological threats imperiling humanity. Founded in 2001 by former U.S. Senator Sam Nunn and philanthropist Ted Turner, who continue to serve as co-chairs, NTI is guided by a prestigious international board of directors. Ernest J. Moniz serves as co-chair and chief executive officer; Joan Rohlfing is president and chief operating officer.
Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security
The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security works to protect people’s health from epidemics and disasters and ensure that communities are resilient to major challenges. The Center examines how scientific and technological innovations can strengthen health security. It studies the policies, organizations, systems, and tools to prevent and respond to outbreaks and public health crises. It advances policies and practice to address a range of challenges, including the global rise in emerging infectious diseases; a continued risk of pandemic flu; major natural disasters; countries’ dependence on vulnerable infrastructure; outbreaks of foodborne illness; and the potential for biological, chemical, or nuclear accidents or intentional threats.
About TCI Research
TCI Research is a leading Travel Data Intelligence Agency awarded by UNWTO and trusted by over 100 destinations, travel brands and organisations globally. TCI fuels destinations’ success through data, setting global proprietary standard analytic solutions for all-size DMOs and travel verticals, with a focus on visitor experience, destination reputation and resident sentiment, combining hybrid analytics sourced from surveys and social/big data.
About Tripadvisor
Tripadvisor, the world’s largest travel platform*, helps 463 million travelers each month** make every trip their best trip. Travelers across the globe use the Tripadvisor site and app to browse more than 867 million reviews and opinions of 8.7 million accommodations, restaurants, experiences, airlines and cruises. Whether planning or on a trip, travelers turn to Tripadvisor to compare low prices on hotels, flights and cruises, book popular tours and attractions, as well as reserve tables at great restaurants. Tripadvisor, the ultimate travel companion, is available in 49 markets and 28 languages.
The subsidiaries and affiliates of Tripadvisor, Inc. (NASDAQ:TRIP), own and operate a portfolio of websites and businesses, including the following travel media brands: www.bokun.io, www.cruisecritic.com, www.flipkey.com, www.thefork.com
(including www.lafourchette.com, www.eltenedor.com, www.bookatable.co.uk, and www.delinski.com), www.helloreco.com, www.holidaylettings.co.uk, www.housetrip.com, www.jetsetter.com, www.niumba.com, www.seatguru.com, www.singleplatform.com, www.vacationhomerentals.com and www.viator.com.
*Source: Jumpshot for Tripadvisor Sites, worldwide, November 2019
** Source: Tripadvisor internal log files, average monthly unique visitors, Q3 2019
About The World Economy Forum
The World Economic Forum is the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation. Our purpose is to empower global leaders to shape the future for the better. With the pace of change accelerating, even the most innovative governments, businesses and organizations will struggle to meet the world’s technological, environmental and social challenges on their own. We are a trusted platform for all stakeholders of global society to integrate and aggregate their efforts to improve the state of the world. Only through the power of collaboration can we successfully solve our shared global challenges.