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ADB Supports Environmental Improvements in Luang Prabang

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ADB Supports Environmental Improvements in Luang Prabang - VISITLAOS.org - TOURISMMEKONG.comLuang Prabang, Lao PDR, December 8, 2023 / TRAVELINDEX / The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $35 million concessional loan and a $10 million grant for the Urban Environment Improvement Investment Project to help support sustainable, inclusive, and resilient urban development in Luang Prabang City in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR).

Luang Prabang City is northern Lao PDR’s major transport and tourism hub with a fast-growing urban core, situated at the junction of the Mekong and Khan Rivers. Its compact historic precinct and surrounding landscape were included in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage List in 1995. Since then, the development of much-needed solid waste management and wastewater treatment facilities, urban roads and footpaths, and public greenspace has not kept pace with skyrocketing demand—causing environmental degradation and diminishing livability.

“Luang Prabang’s precious heritage and the livelihoods it supports are increasingly threatened by unplanned urban development, climate change, and disasters that disproportionately affect women and vulnerable groups,” said ADB Country Director for the Lao PDR Sonomi Tanaka. “Better urban infrastructure, environmental management, and tourism services together with gender-responsive integrated urban planning and management are needed to help raise the quality of life in Luang Prabang and make it more resilient to shocks.”

Innovative project components include home-, community-, and training facility-based childcare pilots for recipients of higher education and vocational training scholarships that will be offered to female officials employed in the water supply, sanitation, public works, and tourism sectors. The project will establish a women-led creative industries business development network and prepare the Lao PDR’s first creative city strategy and action plan. Women will also be trained to manage smart infrastructure solutions following the Luang Prabang Integrated and Smart Urban Strategy, prepared under the ADB-administered ASEAN–Australia Smart Cities Trust Fund.

Capacity development to support tariff reforms, strengthen financial management, facilitate private sector investment, and improve disaster preparedness and response will complement the project’s infrastructure investments.

The project is expected to benefit 104,500 residents and 1.3 million annual visitors by 2031.

ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. Established in 1966, it is owned by 68 members—49 from the region.

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First published at TravelNewsHub.com – Global Travel News

PATA and Visa’s Workers Programme Concludes in Bali

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PATA and Visa's Workers Programme Concludes in Bali - TRAVELINDEX - VISITBALI.orgBangkok, Thailand, April 4, 2023 / TRAVELIDEX / The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) and Visa are delighted to announce the completion of the Informal Workers Programme in Bali, Indonesia. The programme was created in 2021 as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic to support one of the most important – but often overlooked – stakeholders in the tourism industry: the informal workers. Having been successfully implemented in Bangkok, Thailand, PATA and Visa came together to expand the programme in another important destination in Southeast Asia: Indonesia.

The programme took place in Bali throughout March, and April and will continue in Jakarta in May. On International Women’s Day, March 8th, the first capacity building session began in Bali, at Kedonganan Beach, south of the island. The session was attended by 24 informal workers, including street food sellers, freelance photographers, parking attendants and fishermen. Participants learned about basic principles of service delivery, cross-cultural communication, and health and safety standards.

In the following days, the informal workers received training on business skills, financial management, business marketing and communication. They also learned the basics of mobile photography to better promote their services and products online.

The Informal Workers Programme in Indonesia is developed by PATA and Visa and implemented by our valuable member Wise Steps Consulting. Wise Steps is a consulting firm that works on national and regional projects to support sustainable development and responsible tourism.

According to PATA Chair Peter Semone, “We are delighted to be collaborating with Wise Steps again following the successful development and implementation of the Tourism Destination Resilience Programme. PATA sees great value in building the capacity of informal workers in Indonesia and across the Pacific Asia Region. After all, tourism is everybody’s business and with improved skills, livelihoods of marginalized people can grow.”

About the training programme in Bali, Riko Abdurrahman, Country Manager, Indonesia at Visa, adds, “Visa is proud to provide digital literacy and financial education specifically tailored to the needs of informal tourism workers, such as tour guides and transport drivers, who are an integral part of Bali’s tourism industry. As travel and tourism continue to accelerate post-COVID-19, our partnership with PATA will help enable individuals, businesses, and economies to thrive and deliver on our purpose to uplift everyone, everywhere by being the best way to pay and be paid.”

Pavnesh Kumar, PATA’s Sustainability and Social Responsibility Programme Head, who attended the programme in Bali, noted, “We are very excited to be able to assist in the recovery of the tourism sector in Bali by empowering these crucial players in the industry, which are the informal workers. It is also great to see that despite all challenges faced during this time, the informal workers are enthusiastic about learning new skills and reinventing themselves for the post-COVID tourism era.”

About PATA
Founded in 1951, the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) is a not-for-profit membership association that acts as a catalyst for the responsible development of travel and tourism to, from and within the Asia Pacific region. The Association provides aligned advocacy, insightful research and innovative events to its member organisations, which includes government, state and city tourism bodies; international airlines and airports; hospitality organisations, and educational institutions, as well as thousands of young tourism professional (YTP) members across the world. The PATA network also embraces the grassroots activism of the PATA Chapters and Student Chapters, who organise numerous travel industry training programmes and business development events across the world. Thousands of travel professionals belong to the 32 local PATA Chapters worldwide, while hundreds of students are members of the 28 PATA Student Chapters globally. The PATAmPOWER platform delivers unrivalled data, forecasts and insights from the PATA Strategic Intelligence Centre to members’ desktops and mobile devices anywhere in the world. PATA’s Head Office has been in Bangkok since 1998. The Association also has official offices or representation in Beijing and London.

Source

First published at TravelNewsHub.com – Global Travel News

Momentum in International Visitor Growth into Asia Pacific Continues

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Momentum in International Visitor Growth into Asia Pacific Continues - TRAVELINDEX - VISITTHAILAND.netBangkok, Thailand, February 15, 2023 / TRAVELINDEX / Following strong annual percentage increases in international visitor arrivals (IVAs) in 2022, predictions now are for a peak in that growth momentum in 2023 year-over-year, before slowly moderating in strength to 2025, as pent-up demand gradually eases.

The latest scenario forecasts from the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) for international arrivals into 39 Asia Pacific destinations covered in the Executive Summary report released today, predict that under the mild scenario, the return to pre-COVID levels of IVAs will occur in 2023; under the medium scenario that is projected to occur in 2024, while under the severe scenario, even by the end of 2025, arrival numbers are predicted to still lag the 2019 benchmark by around 12%.

In absolute terms, the number of international arrivals estimates for 2023 range from 713 million under the mild scenario to 512 million under the medium scenario and 383 million under the severe scenario.

While the forecasts for annual increases in international visitor numbers into and across Asia Pacific are strong for each year from 2023 to 2025 under all three scenarios, there are still significant variations under each of those scenarios for individual destination regions and within those, the destinations themselves.

The annual growth rate for IVAs into and across Asia, for example, is predicted to be of the order of 254% in 2023 under the mild scenario, 171% under the medium scenario and 127% under the severe scenario. Such performances are supported by the recent news that China is slowly returning to international travel for both inbound and outbound.

The other destination regions of Asia Pacific are not forecast to grow as strongly as Asia, but still have significant growth rates and absolute volume increases, which, importantly, are predicted to remain positive from year to year between 2023 and 2025.

In addition, when evaluating the annual percentage gains, it must be remembered that while triple-digit annual growth rates look powerful, they translate into quite different absolute increases in IVAs; the annual percentage increases need to be tempered against the absolute increases in visitor numbers.

“Overall, while the trends in these latest forecasts are extremely positive, there are still significant challenges ahead, not the least of which will be managing the impacts of the various variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and whatever else might appear. Add to that the continually looming possibility of a global recession, ongoing geo-political conflicts, a persistent trade-war and changing landscapes in the face of climate change, and it seems advisable to at least consider the possibility of more years of uncertainty and to prepare accordingly,” said PATA Chair Peter Semone. “We were warned with SARS in 2003/2004 but did not fully heed it and consequently paid an enormous humanitarian and economic price with COVID-19. Lessons must be learned and remembered.”

“International travel has already returned to and across the Asia Pacific region to some degree, however, growth over the next few years will largely be uneven for various sub-regions and destinations, in the face of their own local disruptions. The need for a mindset shift from merely marketing a destination to managing visitor demand in a responsible and sustainable manner remains a critical issue for the travel and tourism sector. While the lure of revenue is seductive after years of losses, it should not be the only driving force behind the rebuilding of the supply-side elements of international travel and tourism,” added Mr. Semone.

Mr. Semone concludes by noting that, “Another critical issue for the travel and tourism sector is staffing; we need appropriately trained and motivated personnel and that in turn necessitates education, realistic salaries and benefits, and a transparent promotion pathway for those staff. The sector lost millions of workers during the COVID-19 years and luring them back will be a difficult task unless conditions improve. Developing a more harmonious and equitable tourism system of necessity, involves destinations, suppliers, local communities, and workers. Get that mix right and we will be on the road to a sustainable and equitable long-term future.”

What you will learn from this report:

– Forecast international visitor numbers for Asia Pacific between 2023 and 2025 by destination region, sub-region, and destination, highlighting changing demand preferences in the post-COVID era; and
– Forecasts for 39 individual destinations facilitating the development of appropriate strategies over the next three years.

The PATA Asia Pacific Visitor Forecasts Executive Summary 2023-2025 is now available at https://www.pata.org/research-q1v63g6n2dw/p/asia-pacific-visitor-forecasts-2023-2025.

PATA International members have exclusive access to the Forecast webinar recording, “How Would the Opening of China Impact on Demand for Tourism in the Asia Pacific Region” which was held on Thursday, January 26, 2023. The webinar included expert speakers from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), Euromonitor International, and OAG. The speakers provided an overview of the forecasts for international arrivals to Asia Pacific between 2023 and 2025 from their unique positions of forecasting arrivals, monitoring changing consumer sentiment, and aviation capacity.

About PATA
Founded in 1951, the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) is a not-for-profit membership association that acts as a catalyst for the responsible development of travel and tourism to, from and within the Asia Pacific region. The Association provides aligned advocacy, insightful research and innovative events to its member organisations, which includes government, state and city tourism bodies; international airlines and airports; hospitality organisations, and educational institutions, as well as thousands of young tourism professional (YTP) members across the world. The PATA network also embraces the grassroots activism of the PATA Chapters and Student Chapters, who organise numerous travel industry training programmes and business development events across the world. Thousands of travel professionals belong to the 32 local PATA Chapters worldwide, while hundreds of students are members of the 28 PATA Student Chapters globally. The PATAmPOWER platform delivers unrivalled data, forecasts and insights from the PATA Strategic Intelligence Centre to members’ desktops and mobile devices anywhere in the world. PATA’s Head Office has been in Bangkok since 1998. The Association also has official offices or representation in Beijing and London.

First published at TravelNewsHub.com – Global Travel News

Europe Ministerial Conference Closes with Commitment for Sustainable Infrastructure

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Europe Ministerial Conference Closes with Commitment for Sustainable Infrastructure - TRAVELINDEX - SUSTAINABLE FIRSTNicosia, Cyprus, December 21, 2022 / TRAVELINDEX / The 9th Environment for Europe Ministerial Conference closed today in Nicosia, Cyprus, with the adoption of a ministerial declaration affirming countries’ commitment to transition to a green economy with sustainable infrastructure at its core.

The declaration also calls on countries to join and commit actions under the Global Tourism Plastics Initiative, and underlines the need for more and stronger education for sustainable development.

Fostering sustainable infrastructure and tourism

Sustainable and resilient infrastructure investment should be at the core of green economy policies and commitments, playing a central role in COVID-19 pandemic recovery plans, according to the declaration issued following the conference. New sustainable infrastructure should promote resource efficiency to reduce long-term environmental impacts, as a result of fostering innovation, nature-based solutions and cooperation with the private sector, countries agreed in the Cypriot capital.

Particular attention was given to the importance of infrastructure development and tourism as major sectors concerned in transitioning to a green economy and how therefore it is critical to consider the environmental, social and health concerns of these industries. In the light of this, the declaration also calls on countries to join and commit actions to our partners, the Global Tourism Plastics Initiative that unites the tourism sector behind a common vision of circular economy of plastics, and the Glasgow Declaration: a commitment to a Decade of Tourism Climate Action.

Countries pledged to support efforts to reduce water and energy use and greenhouse gas emissions from tourism, particularly in high-impact sub-sectors (including cruise liners, aviation and accommodation), as well as to improve efficiency in the use of other resources, such as water. They further committed to improve sanitation, wastewater treatment and waste management.

Supporting Ukraine 

The Declaration also “strongly condemns the unprovoked and unjustified aggression against Ukraine by the armed forces of the Russian Federation” and recalls the related General Assembly resolutions.

It “recognizes the need to assess the environmental consequences of the military aggression against Ukraine for both the country and the surrounding region”, and “affirms ministers’ support to Ukraine in its reconstruction, including for providing subsequent assistance for restoration”. It goes on to invite the UNECE secretariat, in cooperation with UNEP, OECD and others, to “prioritize assessing the most urgent environmental needs in Ukraine based upon the methodology of the UNECE Environmental Performance Review Programme and on the results of ongoing and planned impacts assessments”. The Declaration further invites the international organizations to make recommendations to advance Ukraine’s sustainable recovery, in line with the Lugano Declaration adopted at the Ukraine Recovery Conference of last July.

First published at TravelNewsHub.com – Global Travel News

Addressing Plastic Pollution in Tourism Through Sustainable Procurement

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Addressing Plastic Pollution in Tourism Through Sustainable Procurement - TRAVELINDEXParis, France, December 20, 2022 / TRAVELINDEX / This guidance, developed within the framework of the Global Tourism Plastics Initiative, focuses on the procurement of plastic items and packaging (and its alternatives) in the tourism sector and aims to provide practical support for procurement practitioners within the range and global reach of tourism businesses that need to address the impact of single-use plastics and packaging within broader sustainable procurement practice.

This tool draws from existing sustainable procurement good practices that, when implemented systematically throughout the whole procurement cycle, will help increase the circularity in the use of plastics. It provides practical support in identifying the potential for eliminating plastic packaging and plastic items where possible (as well as introducing reuse models as alternatives to single-use items and packaging), in addition to reducing the consumption of plastics where avoidance is not possible (including measures for purchasing recyclable and compostable plastics and plastics with recycled content).

This guidance follows the procurement stages from pre-tender actions around planning procurement approaches including the consideration of elimination, reduction in consumption and adoption of reuse models within the operation of the tourism business. The guidance includes practical examples for tendering, including actions relating to supplier engagement and setting tender specifications. It recognizes that procurement is a continuous cycle of action and therefore also covers contract management and performance improvement within the tourism businesses and their supply chains. A key aspect of the guidance is providing practical tools for procurers in tourism businesses. These include model wording for tender criteria; a hierarchical decision tree for informing actions to eliminate and reduce the dependency on plastics within tenders; and a summary of procurement tools such as life-cycle costing and using standards and labels to help verify claims.

This guidance is also relevant to policymakers, as it recognizes that procurement actions play an important role in providing evidence for how to improve the implementation of plastic reduction strategies. Recommendations are therefore provided for key decision-makers in the tourism business to ensure that sustainable and circular procurement fulfils its potential to support the fourth UN Environment Assembly Resolution 6 on Marine litter and microplastics and deliver the Global Tourism Plastics Initiative vision.

The Global Tourism Plastics Initiative launches Plastic Measurement Methodology tools for Accommodation Providers

The GTPI launched two tools for Plastics Measurement Methodology for Accommodation Providers, these are two Excel Tools which can be used at either individual property or whole portfolio level to facilitate the plastic calculation process, and a Reporting Template for GTPI signatories to submit their performance to GTPI for each reporting cycle.
The Tools help to generate the following GTPI performance metrics: (i) annual total weight of plastics (metric tonnes), (ii) weight of plastics (kg) per guest night, and (iii) percentage of plastics which are compostable (%). The tools are the following ones:

• The Property Tool is used by the property to identify plastic items used and consolidate relevant data (e.g. quantity, weight and compostability) to output its GTPI performance metrics.
• The Portfolio Tool consolidates the data inputted within the Property Tools by its properties to output GTPI performance metrics for the entire portfolio. Step-by-step instructions can be found in the respective tools.

You can download calculation tools below:
– https://www.oneplanetnetwork.org/knowledge-centre/resources/addressing-plastic-pollution-tourism-through-sustainable-procurement
– https://www.oneplanetnetwork.org/knowledge-centre/resources/gtpi-plastic-measurement-methodology-tools-accommodation-providers

First published at TravelNewsHub.com – Global Travel News

PATA and UNESCO Launch Online Course to Reduce Plastics in Tourism

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PATA and UNESCO Launch Online Course to Reduce Plastics in Tourism - TRAVELINDEX - SUSTAINABLEFIRST.comBangkok, Thailand, August 8, 2022 / TRAVELINDEX / The Pacific Asia Travel Association is pleased to announce the launch of a new online resource for increasing the sustainability of the tourism sector. The course, Targeting Zero Plastics in Tourism Businesses – with UNESCO, PATA & Expedia Group, is launched in conjunction with this year’s PATA Destination Marketing Forum (PDMF), held in Songkhla, Thailand, from August 2-4.

In March 2022, PATA started a collaboration with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) with the goal of advising tourism and hospitality businesses on plastic waste reduction. To achieve this, PATA has developed this online course to provide step-wise guidance on minimising the sourcing and consumption of single-use plastics as well as the importance for organisations to sign the UNESCO Sustainable Travel Pledge.

The Pledge, which is a collaboration between UNESCO and Expedia Group, is open and applicable to all tourism businesses, regardless of their size or location. By signing the Pledge, they will be joining a network of leading tourism and hospitality businesses that are helping their destinations in the development of sustainable tourism. “The Sustainable Travel Pledge is particularly timely as we work to build a new kind of tourism in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, by inviting local tourism stakeholders to commit to inclusive and sustainable measures”, said Ernesto Ottone R., UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Culture.

“The pandemic caused hardship in tourism destinations worldwide, but also led to severe setbacks in our fight against plastic waste”, said PATA CEO Liz Ortiguera. “Now is the time to take action and strive for a more sustainable tourism and hospitality industry. We’re proud to make this contribution to plastic waste reduction efforts. ”

The amount of plastics we currently produce, consume and dispose of is unsustainable, and tourism activities and hospitality businesses do contribute largely to this issue. In the Mediterranean, for example, marine litter increases up to 40% during tourist peak season (One Planet, 2021), and this poses a threat to tourism destinations themselves.

As put by Ang Choo Pin, Managing Director Asia, Expedia Group, “it is essential for hotels, restaurants, tour operators and all other tourism businesses to reduce the amount of plastics they generate and dispose of the unavoidable plastics responsibly if they wish to protect the very assets they rely on to attract customers”.

Reducing single-use plastics in tourism and hospitality businesses provides not only an opportunity to protect the destination’s ecosystems but also to support the local community and economy, as it is advocated throughout the online course. This is because sourcing local products and using local resources and services in tourism offerings and activities reduces reliance on international supply chains as well as economic leakages. Moreover, local artisanal products are more likely to be made of natural, renewable materials than mass-produced ones.

“The course developed by PATA is an incredible resource for businesses to understand the relationships between communities, culture and environmental protection through plastic waste reduction”, says Dr. Hanh Duong Bich, Program Specialist and Chief of Culture Unit at UNESCO Office in Bangkok. “It gives great guidance and examples on how businesses can help fight plastic waste and at the same time promote local heritage and strengthen local supply chains.”

The course “Targeting Zero Plastics in Tourism Businesses – with UNESCO, PATA & Expedia Group” is open-sourced and available at PATA’s website. Participants can receive a certificate if they achieve the minimum required score in the final quiz. Click here to access the course.

About PATA
Founded in 1951, the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) is a not-for-profit membership association that acts as a catalyst for the responsible development of travel and tourism to, from and within the Asia Pacific region. The Association provides aligned advocacy, insightful research and innovative events to its member organisations, which including government, state and city tourism bodies; international airlines and airports; hospitality organisations, and educational institutions, as well as thousands of young tourism professional (YTP) members across the world. The PATA network also embraces the grassroots activism the PATA Chapters and Student Chapters, who organise numerous travel industry training programmes and business development events across the world. Thousands of travel professionals belong to the 32 local PATA Chapters worldwide, while hundreds of students are members of the 28 PATA Student Chapters globally. The PATAmPOWER platform delivers unrivalled data, forecasts and insights from the PATA Strategic Intelligence Centre to members’ desktops and mobile devices anywhere in the world. PATA’s Head Office has been in Bangkok since 1998. The Association also has official offices or representation in Beijing, India and London.

First published at TravelNewsHub.com – Global Travel News

PATA and GBTA to Host APAC Travel Summit in Bangkok

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PATA and GBTA to Host APAC Travel Summit in Bangkok - TRAVELINDEXBangkok, Thailand, July 11, 2022 / TRAVELINDEX / The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) in partnership with the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) will host their inaugural PATA & GBTA APAC Travel Summit at the new, state-of-the-art Queen Sirikit National Convention Center (QSNCC) in Bangkok, Thailand from December 8-9, 2022. The two-day, first-of-its-kind joint event in Asia will address sustainability and best practices in the tourism, MICE, and corporate travel spheres.

The joint event in Asia will address sustainability and best practices in the tourism, MICE, and corporate travel spheres. The two-day educational and tradeshow event, under the theme “Defining a Responsible, Sustainable Future for Business, Tourism and MICE,” will highlight the challenges and solutions for CO2 emissions, destination sustainability options, and procurement-oriented approaches in the context of the global and Asia-Pacific region’s pandemic recovery. Targeted attendees and sponsors are regional and global travel suppliers including top airlines, hotel and ground/car rental brands – as well as MICE and corporate travel decision-makers from the world’s largest travel companies and travel management companies.

“We are delighted to be working with GBTA in bringing together both of our industry networks to share insights and discuss opportunities and best practices for the responsible and sustainable growth of the travel and tourism industry,” said PATA CEO Liz Ortiguera. “At PATA, we support the industry recovery, pursuit of emerging travel opportunities and sustainable travel practices for the region. Therefore, I invite all of our members, partners and industry colleagues to join us and engage in this travel forum to reconnect, get informed and collaborate.”

The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) is the world’s premier business travel and meetings trade organization, with a growing global network of more than 28,000 travel professionals and 125,000 active contacts. Headquartered in the Washington, D.C. area with operations on six continents, GBTA’s members manage more than US$345 billion of global business travel and meetings expenditures annually.

“The path to recovery for the global travel industry continues for both tourism and business travel. However, there’s also the opportunity and need to create a better, more sustainable way forward to serve the industry and the planet as well. We are pleased to join forces with PATA to bring to event attendees the important insights, learnings and discussions on what a sustainable future might look like and the actions that we can take in the region as well as across the globe to get there,” said Suzanne Neufang, CEO, GBTA.

About PATA
Founded in 1951, the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) is a not-for-profit membership association that acts as a catalyst for the responsible development of travel and tourism to, from and within the Asia Pacific region. The Association provides aligned advocacy, insightful research and innovative events to its member organisations, which including government, state and city tourism bodies; international airlines and airports; hospitality organisations, and educational institutions, as well as thousands of young tourism professional (YTP) members across the world. The PATA network also embraces the grassroots activism the PATA Chapters and Student Chapters, who organise numerous travel industry training programmes and business development events across the world. Thousands of travel professionals belong to the 32 local PATA Chapters worldwide, while hundreds of students are members of the 28 PATA Student Chapters globally. The PATAmPOWER platform delivers unrivalled data, forecasts and insights from the PATA Strategic Intelligence Centre to members’ desktops and mobile devices anywhere in the world. PATA’s Head Office has been in Bangkok since 1998. The Association also has official offices or representation in Beijing, India and London.

About GBTA
The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) is the world’s largest business travel and meetings trade organization headquartered in the Washington, D.C. area with operations across six continents. GBTA’s members manage more than $345 billion of global business travel and meetings expenditures annually. GBTA delivers world-class education, events, research, advocacy and media to a growing global network of more than 28,000 travel professionals and 125,000 active contacts.

First published at TravelNewsHub.com – Global Travel News

Aviation Leaders Assemble in Doha for IATA’s AGM

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Aviation Leaders Assemble in Doha for IATA's AGM - QATARTOURISM.org - TRAVELINDEXDoha, Qatar, June 18, 2022 / TRAVELINDEX / The International Air Transport Association (IATA), announced that leaders of the global aviation industry are gathering in Doha, Qatar, for the 78th IATA Annual General Meeting (AGM) and World Air Transport Summit (WATS), with Qatar Airways as the host airline.

• For a comprehensive travel guide on Qatar and the FIFA World Cup 2022, go to QatarTourism.org

The event (19-21 June) attracts the industry’s most senior leaders from among IATA’s 290 member airlines, as well as leading government officials, strategic partners, equipment suppliers, and media.

“In a few days, Doha will become the aviation capital of the world. The last time we met in Doha, in 2014, we were celebrating the 100th anniversary of the first airline flight. This year’s AGM is another momentous occasion: Airlines are simultaneously recovering from the COVID-19 crisis, setting the path to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050, working to improve gender diversity, and adapting to a geopolitical environment that is undergoing its greatest shock in over three decades,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker said: “It is an absolute privilege to be hosting our industry partners in Qatar Airways’ home city, particularly during our milestone 25th year of operations. Coming together face-to-face provides us with the opportunity to discuss lessons learnt from our recent years during the pandemic, global issues affecting us all in the here and now, and to plan the best way forward for the industry.”

World Air Transport Summit

The WATS opens immediately following the AGM. A highlight will be the third edition of the Diversity and Inclusion Awards sponsored by Qatar Airways. These awards recognize organizations and individuals who are making a difference in helping to drive the industry’s 25by2025 initiative to make the aviation industry more gender balanced.

The WATS will also feature the popular CEO Insights Panel moderated by CNN’s Richard Quest and featuring Adrian Neuhauser, CEO, Avianca, Pieter Elbers, CEO, KLM, Akbar Al Baker, Group Chief Executive, Qatar Airways and Jayne Hrdlicka, CEO, Virgin Australia.

In addition to the updated industry economic outlook, key topics to be addressed include: the War in Ukraine and its implications for the globalized world; the challenges to achieving sustainability, including net zero carbon emissions by 2050, and reducing the use of single use plastics, allocating scarce airport capacity, and ensuring safe carriage of lithium batteries. New for 2022 is a CFO Insights Panel.

• For a comprehensive travel guide on Qatar and the FIFA World Cup 2022, go to QatarTourism.org

This will be the fourth time that the AGM is hosted in the Middle East. In normal times, aviation in the region supports some 3.4 million jobs and $213 billion in economic activity. “Since we were last in Doha, the region has only increased its importance to global connectivity. According to the most recent figures, the region’s airlines account for 6.5% of global international passenger traffic and 13.4% of freight movements. Much of this growth has occurred in the Gulf region, as is typified by our host airline,” said Walsh.

Attendance at the AGM is by invitation only. Accredited media are invited to attend but must be pre-registered.

First published at TravelNewsHub.com – Global Travel News

Accelerate Asia Pacific Aviation Recovery Sustainably

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Accelerate Asia Pacific Aviation Recovery Sustainably - AIRLINEHUB.com - TRAVELINDEXSingapore, Singapore, May 19, 2022 / TRAVELINDEX / The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has urged Asia-Pacific states to further ease border measures to accelerate the region’s recovery from COVID-19.

“Asia-Pacific is playing catch-up on restarting travel after COVID-19, but there is growing momentum with governments lifting many travel restrictions. The demand for people to travel is clear. As soon as measures are relaxed there is an immediate positive reaction from travelers. So it is critical that all stakeholders, including governments are well-prepared for the restart. We cannot delay. Jobs are at stake and people want to travel,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General, in his keynote address at the Changi Aviation Summit.

The Asia-Pacific region’s international passenger demand for March reached 17% of pre-COVID levels, after having hovered at below 10% for most of the last two years. “This is far below the global trend where markets have recovered to 60% of pre-crisis levels. The lag is because of government restrictions. The sooner they are lifted, the sooner we will see a recovery in the region’s travel and tourism sector, and all the economic benefits that will bring,” said Walsh.

Walsh urged Asia-Pacific governments to continue easing measures and bring normalcy to air travel by:

– Removing all restrictions for vaccinated travelers.
– Removing quarantine and COVID-19 testing for unvaccinated travelers where there are high levels of population immunity, which is the case in most parts of Asia.
– Lift the mask mandate for air travel when it is no longer required in other indoor environments and public transport.

“Supporting and more importantly accelerating the recovery will need a whole of industry and government approach. Airlines are bringing back the flights. Airports need to be able to handle the demand. And governments need to be able to process security clearances and other documentation for key personnel efficiently,” said Walsh.

China and Japan

Walsh noted that there are two big gaps in the Asia-Pacific recovery story: China and Japan.

“So long as the Chinese government continues to maintain their zero-COVID approach, it is hard to see the country’s borders reopening. This will hold back the region’s full recovery.

While Japan has taken steps to allow travel, there is no clear plan for the reopening of Japan for all inbound visitors or tourists. More needs to be done to further ease travel restrictions, starting with lifting quarantine for all vaccinated travelers, and removing both the on-arrival airport testing and daily arrival cap. I urge the government of Japan to take bolder steps towards recovery and opening of the country’s borders,” said Walsh.

Sustainability

Walsh also called on Asia-Pacific governments to support the industry’s sustainability efforts.

“Airlines have committed to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. A key to our success will be governments sharing the same vision. There are high expectations for governments to agree a long-term goal at the ICAO Assembly later this year. Achieving net zero requires everyone to shoulder their responsibility. And among the most important things that governments should do is incentivizing the production of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF). Airlines have bought every drop of SAF that is available. Projects are underway that will see a rapid increase in SAF production over the next years. We see SAF contributing to 65% of the mitigation needed to achieve net zero in 2050. That will require governments to be much more proactive,” said Walsh.

Walsh acknowledged that there have been positive developments in Asia-Pacific. Japan has committed considerable funds for green aviation initiatives. New Zealand and Singapore have agreed to cooperate on green flights. “Singapore’s cross industry International Advisory Panel on a sustainable aviation air hub is a positive example for other states to adopt,” said Walsh. He also called on ASEAN and its partners to do more, particularly looking for opportunities in the region to expand SAF production.

First published at TravelNewsHub.com – Global Travel News

IATA: Passenger Recovery Accelerates in February

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IATA Passenger Recovery Accelerates in February - AIRLINEHUB.com - TRAVELINDEXGeneva, Switzerland, April 20, 2022 / TRAVELINDEX / The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced that air travel posted a strong rebound in February 2022 compared to January 2022, as Omicron-related impacts moderated outside of Asia. The war in Ukraine, which began on 24 February, did not have a major impact on traffic levels.

Note: We are returning to year-on-year traffic comparisons, instead of comparisons with the 2019 period, unless otherwise noted. Owing to the low traffic base in 2021, some markets will show very high year-on-year growth rates, even if the size of these markets is still significantly smaller than they were in 2019.

– Total traffic in February 2022 (measured in revenue passenger kilometers or RPKs) was up 115.9% compared to February 2021. That is an improvement from January 2022, which was up 83.1% compared to January 2021. Compared to February 2019, however, traffic was down 45.5%.

– February 2022 domestic traffic was up 60.7% compared to the year-ago period, building on a 42.6% increase in January 2022 compared to January 2021. There was wide variation in markets tracked by IATA. Domestic traffic in February was 21.8% below the volumes of February 2019.

– International RPKs rose 256.8% versus February 2021, improved from a 165.5% year-over-year increase in January 2022 versus the year-earlier period. All regions improved their performance compared to the prior month. February 2022 international RPKs were down 59.6% compared to the same month in 2019.

“The recovery in air travel is gathering steam as governments in many parts of the world lift travel restrictions. States that persist in attempting to lock-out the disease, rather than managing it, as we do with other diseases, risk missing out on the enormous economic and societal benefits that a restoration of international connectivity will bring,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General.

International Passenger Markets

– European carriers saw their February traffic rise 380.6% versus February 2021, improved over the 224.3% increase in January 2022 versus the same month in 2021. Capacity rose 174.8%, and load factor climbed 30.3 percentage points to 70.9%.

– Asia-Pacific airlines had a 144.4% rise in February traffic compared to February 2021, up somewhat over the 125.8% gain registered in January 2022 versus January 2021. Capacity rose 60.8% and the load factor was up 16.1 percentage points to 47.0%, the lowest among regions.

– Middle Eastern airlines’ traffic rose 215.3% in February compared to February 2021, well up compared to the 145.0% increase in January 2022, versus the same month in 2021. February capacity rose 89.5% versus the year-ago period, and load factor climbed 25.8 percentage points to 64.7%.

– North American carriers experienced a 236.7% traffic rise in February versus the 2021 period, significantly increased compared to the 149.0% rise in January 2022 over January 2021. Capacity rose 91.7%, and load factor climbed 27.4 percentage points to 63.6%.

– Latin American airlines’ February traffic rose 242.7% compared to the same month in 2021, well up over the 155.2% rise in January 2022 compared to January 2021. February capacity rose 146.3% and load factor increased 21.7 percentage points to 77.0%, which was the highest load factor among the regions for the 17th consecutive month.

– African airlines had a 69.5% rise in February RPKs versus a year ago, a large improvement compared to the 20.5% year-over-year increase recorded in January 2022 compared to the same month in 2021. February 2022 capacity was up 34.7% and load factor climbed 12.9 percentage points to 63.0%.

– Brazil’s domestic traffic was up 32.5% in February, compared to February 2021, which was a slowdown compared to the 35.5% year-over-year growth recorded in January.

– US domestic RPKs rose 112.5% year-on-year in February, an improvement compared to the 98.4% rise in January versus the prior year.

2022 vs 2019

The accelerated growth recorded in February 2022 compared to a year ago, is helping passenger demand catch-up to 2019 levels. Total RPKs in February were down 45.5% compared to February 2019, well ahead of the 49.6% decline recorded in January versus the same month in 2019. The domestic recovery continues to outpace that of international markets.

First published at TravelNewsHub.com – Global Travel News