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riceari Kishigawa’s family has been in the tourism industry for decades. PalauOn a more remote archipelago, Mali runs the 11-room Carp Island Resort, a 30-kilometer boat ride from Palau’s commercial center, Koror.
Yet, beneath a canopy of palm trees, beside the crystal-clear waters, Mary is reassessing her future.
“If I had financing, I would switch my business to home rentals instead of tourism-related businesses.”
The coronavirus pandemic and rising living costs have hit her business hard.
“Even though the borders have opened, we still have a hard time getting guests. Our resort uses generators for electricity, so even if there are no guests, I still need money to buy diesel and take a speedboat to the island every week to buy food, diesel and petrol.”
Before 2020, Palau receives an average of 118,000 tourists Tourism is a major contributor to the economy, with 10 million visitors a year, but the Ministry of Finance said fewer than 10,000 tourists had arrived this year.
The situation is similar in the Asia-Pacific region, where governments have been struggling to reverse a sharp drop in tourist numbers caused by the pandemic. Hopes are high that tourists will return during the festive season, but cost of living issues and China’s strict zero-COVID policy threaten to hamper progress.
Tourist numbers slowly recovering
While European hotspots such as France and Greece welcomed large numbers of tourists during the northern hemisphere summer, international arrivals and hotel occupancy rates in the region are still well behind pre-pandemic levels.
Tourism in some countries was hampered by restrictive COVID-19 measures that were only lifted in recent months.
Japanese Government The goal is to attract 5 trillion yen ($34.5 billion) in tourism spending each year Japan restored visa-free travel to dozens of countries in October. However, analysts predict that spending by overseas tourists will reach just 2.1 trillion yen ($14 billion) by 2023 and will not exceed pre-pandemic levels until 2025.
Even in countries that lifted COVID-19 restrictions early, visitor numbers remain well below previous levels.
Thailand began reopening its borders in November 2021, hoping to attract 15 million tourists in 2022. It has since revised that number downward: it expects tourist arrivals to be closer to 10 million this year, compared with nearly 40 million in 2019.
Bali, Indonesia is One of the most popular tourist destinations in the worldBut tourist numbers are still far below pre-pandemic levels. In August 2022, 276,000 foreign tourists arrived in Bali, compared to 606,000 in the same period of 2019.
These figures are at odds with some European destinations, where business has picked up during the northern hemisphere summer. French hotel occupancy rates actually fell in July and August this year. Higher than the same period in 2019.
Australia’s monthly tourist numbers are still about 1 million short of their pre-pandemic peak, but with warmer weather in the southern hemisphere, Australian Tourism and Transport Forum chief executive Margy Osmond expects 2023 to be even busier.
“In terms of international tourism, the recovery in our region will certainly take longer than in Europe. Our travel restrictions are stricter and last longer than in the northern hemisphere.”
“Another important factor in the recovery is the restrictions on Chinese tourists, who have traditionally been the main source market for many destinations in Asia and Australia. However, we need to continue to tap other markets such as India to fill the gap.”
Pacific nations count the costs
In Palau, the number of tourists from China has dropped dramatically. In 2019, Chinese tourists accounted for about a third of all tourists. This year, only 57 Chinese citizens have arrived in Palau. Chinese health officials recently announced that they will Unwaveringly adhere to the zero epidemic policy — making international travel all but impossible — the outlook for Palau’s tourism industry remains bleak.
Ron Leidich, founder and manager of kayaking tour company Paddling Palau, puts it bluntly: “The mainland Chinese market no longer exists.
“The Taiwanese market will start to gradually pick up later this month and the number of Japanese tourists is also gradually decreasing. So I think if we look at the overall … tourism market in Palau, it will still be a slow, gradual recovery.”
However, Ron was able to spot a glimpse of blue sky amid the clouds. While the coronavirus pandemic has hurt local tourism, it’s a win for the environment.
“I’ve lived here for 30 years and I’ve never seen Palau as vibrant as it is right now,” he said. “But as a tourism operator, it’s a real blow from an economic perspective.”
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