Post-Tsunami Global Travel Intentions Research WTO- Visa

The majority of travelers planning to visit Asia said that they would like more information about the affected areas, mainlyrelating to health and sanitation, followed by progress on the clean-up and the

impact the tsunami has had on infrastructure and tourist facilities.

These are some of the findings from the Post-Tsunami Global Travel Intentions Research conducted by Visa Asia Pacific for the World Tourism Organization (WTO) Emergency

Task Force that was specially convened in January to assist the tourism industries of countries ravaged by the tsunami. The main findings were released at the Task Force’s second meeting at the International Tourism Exchange (ITB) in Berlin.

According to Visa Asia Pacific Executive Vice President, Southeast Asia, James Murray,

“Since the tsunami disaster, there has been a significant drop in international travel to

affected tourist destinations such as Phuket in Thailand, Sri Lanka and the Maldives,

severely damaging the livelihood of many local communities dependent on tourism

revenues. This has happened in spite of the significant success the various countries

have had in restoring facilities and infrastructure.

Given the scale of the tsunami and the extensive media coverage of its aftermath,

international travelers are understandably concerned about the state of destinations in

Asia. Tourism industries and authorities across South and Southeast Asia are therefore

faced not only with the task of reconstruction, but also the formidable challenge of

enhancing tourist confidence around the world regarding the affected destinations.

Visa conducted the Post-Tsunami Global Travel Intentions Research for the WTO

Emergency Task Force, as we feel the urgent need for better understanding of travel

intentions to Asia among travelers from key markets, and of the barriers that may be

keeping them away.

Equipped with this information, we hope that national tourism organizations, policy

makers, tourism operators and merchants in the tsunami-affected countries will be better

able to address the most salient issues and concerns among global travelers, restore

tourist confidence and stimulate travel back to their countries more effectively,” added

Murray.

For WTO Secretary General, Mr Frangialli, “this report contains essential information

about consumers’ perceptions in the main generating markets regarding the affected

areas and will constitute a valuable contribution to the design and implementation of

communication and marketing recovery plans”.

Tsunami’s impact on travel to Asia varies by source market

According to the research findings, among travelers who are planning to visit Asia, a

majority of 65 percent said the tsunami had no impact on their travel plans to the region

as a whole. 52 percent also felt the tsunami had not impacted their travel plans specifically to the affected areas, however 30 percent said the tsunami’s aftermath is deterring them from visiting these destinations.

The tsunami’s impact is most severe on Japanese and Korean travelers compared with

all other visitors, dampening their travel intentions not only to tsunami-affected countries,

but to the rest of Asia. Forty-nine percent of Japanese and 60 percent of Korean travelers

said that they are less likely to travel in the Asian region because of the tsunami, while 54

percent of Japanese and 63 percent of Korean travelers will be less likely to visit the

tsunami-affected countries in 2005.

On the other hand, the tsunami has the least impact on the travel plans to affected

countries among Canadian travelers (69 percent claimed it had no impact), followed by

the French (65 percent), Germans (60 percent) and Australians (60 percent).

In some countries, the tsunami actually had a positive impact on travel to Asia. Around

one-fifth of travelers said the tsunami has made it more likely for them to visit affected

countries, especially those from China (20 percent), UK (19 percent), Canada (18

percent) and Sweden (18 percent). This is a reflection of altruistic sentiments and a show

of support for the local communities, especially among Canadian, British, Swedish and

Australian travelers. They expressed strong belief that taking a holiday in the affected

countries is an excellent way to help the communities and economies recover from the

disaster. However, this is also tempered to some extent by feelings that they found it

inappropriate to holiday while the local people are having a tough time.

Murray said, “The Visa research clearly shows that the tsunami’s impact on travel to Asia

varies considerably by source market. Travelers from some countries have higher levels

of apprehension and resistance to visiting tsunami-affected countries, while others seem

much more impervious and supportive. Tourism industries across Asia may need to

adopt a varied approach in communicating and marketing to different traveler source

markets to address their main concerns.

Information needs: Health and sanitation are top of mind

The majority of those planning to travel to Asia said that they would like more information

about the affected areas, mainly relating to health and sanitation, followed by progress on

the clean-up and on the impact the tsunami has had on infrastructure and tourist

facilities.

Most of the barriers to travel seem to be based on inadequate perceptions about the

infrastructural readiness and safety of the destinations. These are issues that can be

addressed with a targeted information and communications strategy which highlights the

recovery of the tourism destinations. Increased awareness of the health of the Asian

tourism industry, in terms of infrastructure, service and ambience is critical to speed up

the recovery and minimize further risks of slowdown.

Note: The Visa research was designed and conducted by AC Nielsen in February 2005

covering 10 key markets around the world – USA, Canada, France, Germany, Sweden,

UK, Australia, China, Japan and Republic of Korea. The research looked into salient

issues such as the impact of the tsunami on travel plans to Asia in 2005, choice of

destination, travelers’ understanding of the extent of the tsunami’s impact on different

countries, prospective travelers’ key concerns and their information needs and sources.