Tue, May 30, 2023 page3

• Group tour costs to rise: association

  TRAVEL SEASON: Inflation, oil price hikes, staff shortages in the tourism sector and the return of Chinese tourists have caused tour prices to rise up to 50 percent

  • By Shelley Shan / Staff reporter
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  People planning to travel abroad in group tours this summer would pay higher fees as a combination of factors drive up travel costs, the Travel Quality Assurance Association (TQAA) said in a quarterly report.

  The association cited factors including inflation, rising oil prices and China’s reopening as the reasons for higher fees from July to September.

  Compared with the same quarter in 2019, prices of group tours to Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia are up 12 percent, while prices of group tours to Japan have increased 15 to 25 percent, the report said.

  

  People walk inside Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on April 5.

  Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times

  Tours to the US and Canada would cost 30 to 50 percent more than they did in the same period in 2019, while tours to Europe would cost about 30 percent more, it said.

  Tours to Central Asia, Africa, the Middle East, South Asia and West Asia are to cost 30 to 40 percent more than they did in 2019, it added.

  Group tours to Australia and New Zealand would cost about 9 percent more, while tour fees to countries in Indochina would rise about 20 to 30 percent, the report said.

  

  Travel Quality Assurance Association chairman Chang Yung-chen, front, third left, Palau Visitor Authority Chairman Jackson Doktok, front, fourth left, and others pose for a picture after signing a memorandum of understanding in Taipei yesterday.

  Photo: Chen Hsin-yu, Taipei Times

  Oil price hikes and labor shortages have driven up the price of airplane tickets to Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia, the report said.

  Meanwhile, as China has reopened its borders and allowed its citizens to travel abroad, demand for accommodation in those Southeast Asian nations have risen as well, it said.

  The Thai government is to levy a tourism tax from all inbound tourists this quarter, which increases travel costs, the report said.

  Group tours to Japan cost more due to inflation, oil price hikes and personnel shortages in airports there, the report said.

  As demand for flights from individual tourists remains strong, airlines set higher prices for group tour reservations, it said.

  More Japanese prefer domestic tours to traveling abroad after the Bank of Japan maintained its quantitative easing policy to weaken the Japanese yen, the report said.

  Demand for hotel rooms, restaurants and tour buses in Japan has increased with a rise in the number of charter flights from South Korea and China, it said.

  The report said July and August are generally the peak period for travel to the US and Canada.

  This year, airlines have allocated fewer seats to group tours, making it difficult for travel agencies to secure reservations, it said, adding that demand would not ease until September.

  Costs of group tours to Europe have surged, due to strong demand for flights, accommodation and tour buses, the report said.

  However, travelers can expect diverse tours offered by travel agencies this summer, particularly after China Airlines launches a direct flight service to Prague in July, it said.

  Demand for airplane tickets to Vietnam, as well as accommodation and restaurants there, are in high demand, as the country remains a popular destination in Indochina for group tours, corporate incentive tours and golf tours, the report said.

  The closing of the airspace over Russia due to its invasion of Ukraine is one of the reasons for higher travel costs to Africa, along with strong demand and a labor shortage, it added.

  Meanwhile, the association and the Palau Visitor Authority (PVA) yesterday signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on a dual certification program to ensure Taiwanese visitors can access high-quality and eco-friendly tours to Palau.

  The MOU was signed by Palau Visitor Authority Chairman Jackson Doktok and association chairman Chang Yung-chen (張永成) in Taipei.

  Chang said he accompanied Vice President William Lai (賴清德) on his diplomatic mission to Palau last year and was commissioned by him to help restore Palau’s tourism sector to the pre-COVID-19 pandemic level.

  The association later led a delegation of about 60 tour guides to scout for potential tour routes in the Pacific country and hosted six seminars on tours to Palau around Taiwan, Chang said.

  “Palau is known as God’s aquarium for its blue sky, fresh air and clear ocean... With the tour certification program, travel itineraries offered by TQAA members would be endorsed and certified by the PVA and the TQAA, which would enhance the quality of tours to Palau and help bolster diplomatic relations between Palau and Taiwan,” he said.

  Doktok said the signing of the MOU can deepen diplomatic relations between two countries and help incorporate eco-tourism, sports tourism and other tour arrangements into travel itineraries.
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