Southeast Asia and South Korea are cheaper travel destinations

a factor:
Accommodation in Southeast Asia harder to find as Chinese again allowed on group tours, says Travel Quality Assurance Association

• Shan Shirley/Reporter

Those planning outbound travel in the fourth quarter of this year may consider organizing group trips to Southeast Asia and South Korea, as travel costs have risen relatively modestly compared with 2019, according to a quarterly report by the Association for Tourism Quality Assurance. yesterday.

The association also announced reasonable prices for group tours in popular tourist destinations in the fourth quarter for consumers’ reference.

Xie Tianen, general manager of Quyou International Travel Agency and director of tourism for Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, said that in the fourth quarter, tourism prices in these countries will increase by about 15% compared with the same period in 2019, due to rising international oil prices and higher accommodation costs.

However, he said overall travel prices would be about 5 percent lower than in the third quarter of this year due to lower airfares.

“Airlines generally offer discounts of about 20% to boost load factors. However, due to holidays in Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand, most of the flight seats are allocated to individual passengers.”

Since China allowed its citizens to join group tours abroad in February, accommodation in the Southeast Asian country has become increasingly difficult to find, with some hoteliers even raising room rates for the National Day long weekend by about 30 percent to October 7th.

Chang Guoqing, deputy general manager of Universal Travel Agency, said that due to rising air ticket prices, the price of travel to South Korea in the fourth quarter will increase by about 15% compared with the same period in 2019.

However, overall travel prices will be about 20% higher than in the third quarter, Chan said.

Flight prices may “have room to come down” as some airlines will resume service or launch new flights, he said, adding that 90% of flights between Taiwan and South Korea have resumed so far.

Special assistant to the chairman of Pinguan International Travel Agency? Ming Jie said that due to the impact of rising global oil prices and inflation, the cost of tourism in Vietnam will increase by about 20% to 30% in 2019.

“As Indochina enters the peak season for international tourists, tourism costs in the fourth quarter will be about 10% to 20% higher than in the third quarter due to higher air ticket prices and accommodation costs,” Guan said.

Meanwhile, the cost of travel to Europe in the fourth quarter will rise by about 20% compared to the same period in 2019, due to higher airfare prices, accommodation, transportation and meals, the report said.

However, the company said travel costs would be about 10% lower than in the third quarter.

Although many airlines have launched new flight services to Japan, the cost of travel to Japan has increased compared to 2019 due to reasons such as ticket prices, staff shortages, the depreciation of the yen, limited accommodation, and a higher proportion of domestic travel in Japan, the report said. nearly double.

Traveling in Japan on weekdays now costs twice as much as it did during the New Year holidays in 2019, the report added.

“Compared with the third quarter, due to the maple leaf season from next month to November, the cost of traveling to Japan in the fourth quarter will increase by 30% to 40%. Many companies will invite employees to Japan to participate in incentive travel.” The report said.

Travel costs to Australia and New Zealand will increase by 25% and 23%, respectively, compared to 2019, while travel to the US and Canada will increase by 50% to 70% due to higher airfare and other costs, the report said.

The cost of travel to countries in the Middle East, Central Asia and Africa has risen by 30% to 100% compared to 2019 due to rising labor and accommodation costs, the report said.

Tourists to Israel will increase by 50% to 80% compared to 2019, while tourism to Egypt will double, the report said.

Tours to East Africa will be 10% cheaper in the fourth quarter following the Mara River migration in the third quarter, while prices in Turkey will be 15% to 20% cheaper than in the third quarter because it is now winter, the report said.