Key developments:
* Cruises shun Asia to avoid virus
* Wyndham closes 70% China hotels
* Virus could cost Expedia $30-40M in Q1
* Airbnb, Trip.com rise as top channels
Worldwide updates:
Global tourism to take $80B hit
>> Chinese outbound tourism will not recover to pre-coronavirus levels until the second quarter of 2021, says Economist Intelligence Unit. The outbreak could cost the global tourism industry about USD 80 billion in lost revenue. Asean will be hurt the most as the number of Chinese tourists to these destinations will drop by 30-40% and cause revenue losses of USD 7 billion.
Virus cut international air traffic
>> The early stages of the coronavirus crisis led to a 70% fall in international air traffic in China while domestic air travel fell by 50%, the International Energy Agency said. It cut its first-quarter Chinese jet fuel demand forecast by 14% or 125,000 barrels per day and its second-quarter forecast by 15%.
>> The virus has resulted in two-thirds of international capacity to and from China being canceled. In less than four weeks the number of weekly international seats operated from China has fallen by some 1.4 million seats. That reduction in capacity is more than all of the scheduled international capacity planned from France in the week.
>> The Asia Pacific region has experienced a 10.5% slowdown in outbound travel bookings for March and April, excluding trips to and from China and Hong Kong, according to travel analytics firm ForwardKeys. Bookings from China were set to be just 55.9% of bookings in previous year.
Cruise industry shuns Asia to avoid virus
>> Many cruises in Asia are being canceled while others currently sailing are being re-routed, skipping originally scheduled stops in China, Hong Kong and Singapore. Royal Caribbean canceled 18 cruises in Southeast Asia on Thursday after calling off eight trips to China last week.
Wyndham closes 70% of hotels in China
>> Wyndham Hotels and Resorts has closed about 70% of its hotels in China, and those that remain open are seeing fewer guests, CFO Michele Allen told investors. The company is expecting a 200-400 basis point decline in this year’s RevPAR.
>> The hotel industry is feeling the pinch of the outbreak beyond China, with the full impact remains to be seen. Wyndham has already seen occupancy declines elsewhere in Southeast Asia, especially in South Korea, Singapore and Thailand.
Virus could cost Expedia $30-40M in Q1
>> The U.S.-based online travel powerhouse aimed to save USD 300-500 million in operation cost this year. Due to cost-saving uncertainty and the "full effect of coronavirus", it will not provide specific guidance.
The company expects the coronavirus will have USD 30-40 million impact to adjusted EBITDA in Q1.
Airbnb, Trip.com rise as top hotel channels
>> Trip.com ranked fifth on Asia's top 12 hotel distribution channels in 2019, according to guest acquisition platform SiteMinder. It is a testament to the value that Chinese travelers have had on Asian economies.
The swift rise of Airbnb in many markets is evidence of not just that the hotel industry’s openness to adopting Airbnb as a partner, but also that Airbnb users no longer just look for homestays and spare spaces.
Asia Pacific hotel construction up 14.1% in Jan
>> STR’s hotel pipeline data for Asia Pacific showed 2,021 projects accounting for 441,819 rooms in construction as of the end of January 2020, representing a 14.1% increase in the number of rooms in the final phase of the development.
China led with 224,579 rooms, which represented 8.1% of the country’s existing supply, followed by Japan (35,622 rooms, 5.0% of existing supply).
Peakwork enters Taiwan market buying Riversoft
>> German travel technology specialist Peakwork has launched in Taiwan after acquiring a stake in Taiwanese technology company Riversoft. The companies aim to bring Peakwork technology into the Taiwanese leisure market and implement features in local applications.
