U.S. Puts Asia Back On the Travel Maps
When Michael Teague, a software consultant, flew to Hong Kong from Houston earlier this year, there were only 46 people on his Boeing 777, a plane designed to carry as many as 350 people. But just last month, on the same route, "Every seat was taken," he says.
With fears about severe acute respiratory syndrome in remission, travel to Asia is picking back up -- and prices are likely to follow. Last week the World Health Organization lifted its SARS travel advisory for all of Asia. But there is still a window of opportunity to find discounts, particularly for vacationers.
That's partly because business travelers account for a big portion of the rush back to Asia, being eager to make up for lost time after avoiding the region for months. But since leisure travelers are still scarce, the airlines and even many fancy hotels are chasing them with special deals. Recently, Singapore Airlines -- a carrier well regarded for its lavish service -- started offering a round-trip economy fare to Singapore from the U.S. for $579, including a three-night stay in a five-star hotel. That deal must be booked by the end of July for travel completed in August.
Several carriers, after slashing flights to Asia, are ramping back up. Monday, UAL Corp.'s United Airlines -- which had canceled many flights to Asia -- said it would resume them in August. Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific Airways this month will boost the number of flights back up to 71% of the carrier's pre-SARS levels, with plans to restore its full schedule by late September. Continental Airlines, which had eliminated service to Hong Kong from Newark, N.J., says it will reinstate service Aug. 1.
Tuesday, Cathay Pacific plans to launch a $499 round-trip sale to Hong Kong from New York, Los Angeles or San Francisco, for travel anytime from September through November. That is traditionally a peak travel time to Asia. A similar ticket a year ago with two months of advance notice would have been in the neighborhood of $800. Travel agent Virgin Vacations is running a "Taste of Asia Budget Fling" that includes airfare and three nights in a hotel in Hong Kong, Bangkok or Singapore starting at $999, departing from the East or West Coast. Travel must be booked by July 31.
All this activity is coming just as other destinations are getting pricier for Americans. Airfares to Europe have jumped sharply in recent months, and the strengthening European currency is making the continent more expensive.
To be sure, business is still soft to Asia. The planes may look more crowded -- but that's because there are so many fewer flights. Travel to Asia is well below year-earlier figures, and analysts say it will take several months to recover. "Traffic was still awful in June," says David Strine, a Bear Stearns airline analyst. He predicts airline load factors (the percentage of seats filled) over the Pacific should top 50% in June, which would be an improvement over May but still dismal. Cathay is carrying only 17,000 people a day, compared with 33,000 last year at this time. In May, Cathay had cut 50% of its schedule.
Travel agents say Asia remains a tough sell to vacationers, amid fresh memories of SARS and last year's deadly terrorist attack in Bali, Indonesia. "There's still a lack of enthusiasm," says Theresa Lock , a California travel agent. People say, "If I'm going, why not wait until next year,' " she says.
But many observers believe ticket prices to Asia will start going up over the next few months. "What you're seeing is a short-lived phenomenon," says Kok Chwee Sim, director of the Bangkok-based Pacific Asia Travel Association.
Meantime, some of the fanciest hotels in the region are discounting in a desperate bid to fill rooms. In some markets, occupancy rates have dropped as low as the mid-teens. At the five-star Peninsula Hotel in Bangkok, a "grand deluxe" room normally runs $280 a night, but from now is priced at $140. In Bali, Cathay Pacific is offering four-day/three-night packages at hotels like the Four Seasons and Ritz Carlton that start around $1,400.
There are even discounts out there for business travel, though sometimes tougher to find. Northwest Airlines has a business-class promotion expiring July 9, giving discounts to people who sign up with two other passengers. For Bill Constantine of Troy, Mich., this yielded a 55% savings on a trip to Asia later this month.
Of course, there are many travelers who aren't inclined to visit China right now at any price. But plenty of five-star resorts in other Southeast Asian countries are eagerly trying to woo travelers. The Sofitel Royal Angkor, the closest hotel to the famous Angkor temple complex in Cambodia, has a "public" rate of $260 a night for a superior room with king-size bed. Book the same room via the hotel's Web site, and the rate drops to $147.
Due to rising demand, Hong Kong's Dragonair has added flights from Hong Kong to Kota Kinabalu in Malaysian Borneo -- known for beaches and jungle treks -- and the Thai beach resort of Phuket. A three-day air/hotel package to Kota Kinabalu is $351, down from $485 a year ago. "There's a lot of demand to go to a safe resort town," says a Dragonair official.
美国游客开始再度关注亚洲旅行
当今年年初软件顾问迈克尔?提亚哥(Michael Teague)从美国休斯顿飞往香港的时候，他所乘坐的波音777客机上只有46位乘客。而这种型号的飞机最多可载客350人。但提亚哥说，上个月，他乘坐同一航班时却发现飞机上坐满了人。
随著对非典型肺炎(SARS)担 的消退，到亚洲来旅游的人次逐渐增加，很可能机票价格也会随之上涨。上周，世界卫生组织(World Health Organization)对所有亚洲国家取消了因SARS而起的旅游警告。但是，在这种情况下，仍然有机会得到打折机票，特别是那些度假者。
其中的部份原因在于，商务旅行者在返回亚洲的乘客中占了很大比例，他们在离开亚洲数月之后急于弥补自己失去的时间。但鉴于观光游客仍然很少，航空公司以及很多高级宾馆都纷纷推出特别优惠来吸引顾客。最近，一向以优质服务著称的新加坡航空公司(Singapore Airlines)开始推出优惠价格为579美元的美国和新加坡之间往返机票，其中包括免费在五星级宾馆住宿3晚。对于要在8月返回的旅行者来说，该种机票必须在7月底之前预订。
还有几家曾经削减飞往亚洲航班的航空公司现在又开始逐渐增加亚洲线路。本周一，UAL Corp.旗下的联合航空公司(United Airlines)表示，该公司将在8月份恢复曾经取消的许多亚洲航班。总部位于香港的国泰航空有限公司(Cathay Pacific Airways)本月也将把航班的数量提升到SARS前公司航班数的71%，并计划到9月底之前恢复全部航班。美国大陆航空公司(Continental Airlines)此前曾取消从新泽西州纽瓦克机场飞往香港的航班，现在也决定于8月1日恢复。
本周二，国泰航空计划推出499美元的往返机票优惠价，从纽约、洛杉矶或者旧金山到香港之间往返，可在9月份到11月份之间任何一天登机。这个时段是传统上到亚洲旅游的高峰期。而在一年以前，类似的提前两个月通知的往返机票价格约为800美元。旅游代理公司Virgin Vacations正在推出一种名为"体验亚洲风情优惠游"的服务，价格从999美元起，其中包括机票和在香港、曼谷或新加坡的宾馆住宿3晚的费用，从美国东海岸或者西海岸出发。该项服务必须在7月31日之前预订。
上述优惠服务的推出恰逢其他旅游地对美国人来说价格变得更加昂贵之际。在最近几个月内，飞往欧洲的机票价格大幅上涨，而且欧元走强也让到欧洲旅行的成本进一步上升。
确切地说，亚洲地区的航空业务仍然很疲软。飞机可能看上去拥挤一些了，但那是因为航班少了许多。到亚洲旅行的人次较上年同期大大减少，而且分析师认为复苏需要好几个月的时间。贝尔斯登(Bear Stearns)的航空业分析师大卫?斯特莱恩(David Strine)表示，6月份的载客率仍然很低。他预计飞往亚洲的航班6月份运载率将能够超过50%。这个数字比5月份有所好转，但仍处于低迷水平。国泰航空每天仅运载乘客17,000位，低于去年同期的33,000位。5月份，国泰航空削减了50%的预定班次。
旅行社表示，由于对SARS心有余悸，加上去年印尼巴厘岛爆发的恐怖袭击，所以把亚洲旅游项目推销给度假者仍然很难。加利福尼亚一家旅行社的工作人员特里萨?洛克(Theresa Lock)表示，人们仍然对到亚洲旅游缺乏热情，很多人希望推迟到明年。
但很多观察家认为，在未来几个月内，到亚洲的机票价格将开始上扬。位于曼谷的亚太旅游协会(Pacific Asia Travel Association)的负责人Kok Chwee Sim表示，目前出现的现象只是暂时的。
与此同时，亚洲一些最豪华的宾馆也开始打折，希望提高入住率。在某些市场，入住率已经跌至15%左右的水平了。在曼谷的五星级宾馆半岛酒店(Peninsula Hotel)，原价为每晚280美元的超级豪华套房现在已经跌到140美元。在巴厘岛，国泰航空正在推出4天3夜的一揽子旅游项目，入住Four Seasons和Ritz Carlton这类的宾馆，起价才1,400美元左右。
甚至商务旅行也有折扣，尽管有时候并不太好找。美国西北航空公司(Northwest Airlines)推出一个截至7月9日的商务舱促销活动，为那些和另外两名乘客一起购票的人打折。来自密歇根州特洛伊的比尔?康斯坦丁(Bill Constantine)在上月晚些时候曾飞往亚洲，他因此节约了55%的费用。
当然，有很多旅行者在任何价格下都不愿意目前这个时候到中国去。但在其他东南亚国家，许许多多的五星级宾馆迫不及待地希望吸引游客。距离柬埔寨名胜吴哥寺(Angkor temple)最近的宾馆Sofitel Royal Angkor对外公开的价格是每晚260美元入住有超大型床的豪华套房。但如果通过该酒店的网站预订同样的房间，则价格降到147美元。
由于需求日益增长，香港的港龙航空(Dragonair)已经增加了从香港飞往哥打京那巴鲁(Kota Kinabalu)和普吉岛(Phuket)的航班，前者是位于马来西亚婆罗洲的海滩旅游胜地，后者是泰国的知名海滩胜地。到哥打京那巴鲁为期三天的航空/住宿一揽子服务价格为351美元，低于一年以前的485美元。港龙航空的一位管理人士表示，人们对于比较安全的旅游胜地有极其旺盛的需求。
