Tourism and hospitality investment across Asia are being driven by a broad range of catalysts, which must remain mindful of communities and the local experience, delegates heard at the inaugural IHIF Asia in Hong Kong on Monday.
“We have to remember that the power and the voice are not just in the hands of travellers, but also those that live in the destination,” said Liz Ortiguera, managing director of Asia Pacific and senior advisor to the CEO, World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), referencing “concerns about overtourism [particularly] in Europe”.
She added: “It comes down to quality tourism – and studying the sector you are attracting. Maybe generating less cheaper drinking destinations or whatever vice there is.” She added that local leaders needed to be mindful of whether the tourism they were attracting was “contributory to local engagement, to wellbeing, infrastructure”. She noted that “big money” was not always a positive – “sometimes big money comes in and it is a negative factor” adding: “If you want your strategic investment to be protected, you need to look at the ways you are supporting the local community.”
Ir. Rizki Handayani, deputy minister for industry and investment, Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, Indonesia, said that her country was “open to investors with a sustainable focus”, particularly in areas such as “infrastructure, waste management and tourism.” She added: “Tourism is now one of our priorities, also for the next few years” underlining that this didn’t just mean supporting the hotel industry, but that Indonesia was focused on “smart tourism”. That meant encouraging investors and travellers to not only concentrate on Jakarta or Bali, she said, but give “more support to other areas, diversifying products and destinations”.
Shaping the future of Saudi Arabia
Engr. Sultan Al-Shehri, chief of Investment at the Aseer Development Authority in Saudi Arabia said that both the Aseer region and Saudi Arabia as a whole had “big plans for sustainable tourism”. He cited Saudi Vision 2030, a government programme aiming to achieve increased diversification economically, socially and culturally, in line with the vision of Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman.
“Since announcing Saudi Vision 2030, the Kingdom has embarked on many giga projects worth tens of billions of dollars,” Al-Shehri said. “All these projects are sustainable to promote Saudi as a destination for tourism and innovation… and show Saudi’s commitment to become a global destination.” He referenced Saudi Arabia’s “diversified topographies, including deserts, mountains, cities and coasts” which he said offered a taste of “winter or summer” all year round. “We have built our strategies based on culture and nature assets,” he underlined.
Last year, according to Al-Shehri, Saudi Arabia had 9.1 million visitors who spent some US$2.3 billion in the country on “leisure and entertainment, wellness and adventure”. He said that projects like NEOM, an urban area being built by Saudi in Tabuk, were “opening doors for other investors to come to the region”.
Tourism’s economic criticality
Ortiguera noted that “travel and tourism has been continually underestimated by governments in terms of its scope and reach”, describing the industry in Asia as a “mega sector sitting in a mega region”. “And if you include our colleagues in west Asia, it’s even larger,” she added. Ortiguera summarised the growth potential of tourism in Asia, noting that it was currently contributing some 8.7 percent of GDP which would rise to 11.2 percent in 10 years’ time. “Some sixty-four million jobs in travel and tourism will be created in this region in the next decade,” she concluded, noting that Asia’s tourism was seeing growth in areas including “the experience economy, group travel, heritage travel, spiritual travel, and wellness travel”.
She noted that while recovery had been slow post- Covid, those two years had been crucial in “switching everything back on and getting people back into jobs” while maintaining a “sustainability and community focus”. She concluded: “Sustainable tourism is a form of risk management and needs to consider local communities.”