Agoda hopes Asia's domestic tourism will boost revenue after the Covid-19 pandemic

Agoda hopes Asia's domestic tourism will boost revenue after the Covid-19 pandemic

According to the online travel service provider Agoda in Asia, they are looking forward to the revival of the domestic tourism industry in these regions for Agoda to overcome the Covid-19 pandemic in the coming years. last month of 2020.

With the restriction of international travel to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic, travel companies are relying on the domestic market for revenue.

Agoda CEO John Brown said, Thailand, Vietnam and Taiwan (China) are among the top markets where domestic tourism activity is gradually returning to normal, after the pandemic. Covid-19 is successfully controlled.

CEO John Brown said that, in the context of countries applying international travel restrictions to prevent the spread of the disease, the company is currently relying on domestic markets to maintain revenue, such as: such as the Thai market, where the number of domestic bookings increased by 20% compared to last year.

In April, Thailand banned commercial flights and foreign tourists, but has offered local travel incentives to try to fill that void.

The Thai resort island of Phuket from this month will begin accepting a limited number of long-stay visitors from countries considered to be at low risk from Covid-19, who must undergo strict quarantine. strict.

Thailand has recorded just 3,600 confirmed cases of Covid-19 and barely any community transmission in September. Vietnam has recorded a total of 1,096 infections, of which 1,022 have recovered, after a second outbreak in August.

Those unable to travel abroad will replace that with bookings, domestic travel, and an increasing number of tourists who have booked higher-quality hotels and traveled to other destinations, says John Brown, John Brown. new point.

Before the Covid-19 crisis, domestic travel accounted for half of Agoda's bookings. However, the pandemic has created a crisis, and the company in May cut 1,500 jobs, leaving only 4,000 employees.

The Agoda CEO added: “The company is small at the moment and we can sustain it through the storm of Covid-19 indefinitely.” He hopes travel will return to normal as it was before the pandemic and as soon as the Covid-19 vaccine is made available globally, however, travel or work may not recover quickly. as companies are more accustomed to online meetings.

Agoda is based in Singapore, established in Phuket, Thailand in 2005, their advantage over other competitors comes from relationships with major hotels in Asia and market share from the parent company. , Booking Holdings.