Travelfish #397: Barbarians at the gates

Keep that drawbridge drawn

Aug 11, 2020

Hi everyone,

Sorry I’m a day late—my virtual dog did not eat my homework, rather I scalded my hand while blending pumpkin soup. No Chris, not on purpose.

A huge thanks once again, to all our supporters who have made a contribution to our crowdfunding campaign. We’re now at over US$9,600 donated from 149 people—and the commissioning of stories is ongoing—stories you are making possible. Thank you!

Pick your chariot at the Perfume Pagoda. Photo: Samantha Brown.

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Last week on pay to read Couchfish, I started off with a trip to the Perfume Pagoda, then a tale of a fire in my guesthouse, a visa mix–up, the Hanoi Hilton and heading south on the train.

On free to read Couchfish, I revisited two Cambodian islands, then took a look at what Ko Tao was like in the mid 1990s.

This week Couchfish is being written by Cindy Fan—I hope you’re enjoying her work as much as I am.

As always, the photos in this newsletter are from last week on Couchfish.

It is hard to go wrong on Koh Rong. Photo: Stuart McDonald.

Elsewhere, last week David had a cracking piece on Thailand and Covid. If diving is more your thing, Chris is on Ko Lanta.

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Cheers and again thank you for all your support

Stuart

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Barbarians at the gate

The other day I read a quote from David Kevan of Chic Locations, in a Skift story on travel in Southeast Asia ($). He said:

“they need to make decisions within the next four to five weeks and then make plans on how best health precautions can be applied. If not clients will just ask for options that have more clarity, usually in the Caribbean, and they will shelve Asia for a year”.

Our way or the high way. Lower your drawbridge, let us in, with health provisions to protect our guests, or we’ll steer them elsewhere.

Tour companies preferred style of drawbridge. On Koh Rong. Photo: Stuart McDonald.

Earlier this year, travel conglomerate TUI, got into a drama with Thai hoteliers. It was refusing to pay its dues due to Covid19 cancellations. Hotels were not demanding payment for future bookings cancelled, but rather past stays. TUI demanded onerous repayment conditions, for services they had already used. These were stays its customers had already paid TUI for.

Talk about about a double blow—from a supposed partner.

So when I read the Kevan quote above, if felt tone deaf. Yeah, I get their commercial obligations, and their customers want to go somewhere. But come on man, do you read the news?

Vietnam, long the Golden Covid19 Child of Southeast Asia is in the throes of a possible second wave. It has almost 200,000 people in Covid19 quarantine as of a few days ago.

Practising separation on Ko Tao. Photo: Stuart McDonald.

Indonesia and the Philippines are up towards that figure in positive cases alone. Media reports suggest, that at least in the case of Indonesia, an accurate figure might be ten–fold that. With the deaths to match. Hospitals in some countries are at at capacity, others overwhelmed. Doctors are nursing staff are dying at world record rates. It is an unmitigated disaster.

Simultaneously, regional economies are doing the hard yards. Unemployment especially in tourism, is at an all time high. In mid July hotel occupancy in Bali was at 1%. No, that is not a typo. One percent.

In a recent Zoom call, Chattan Kunjara Na Ayudhya, Deputy Governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand spoke with impressive candour. He didn’t expect Thailand to open its borders to recreational tourism until the end of the year. Perhaps not until into 2021—post Lunar New Year even. To my mind, bearing in mind I’m a travel writer, not an epidemiologist, that sounds sensible.

Channat slices through the double speak—even if it does look like he is doing the session in a McDonalds. My mate Nick Ray, of Lonely Planet and Hanuman, also has some super smart things to say about domestic travel in Cambodia.

According to Ray, Cambodia has a campaign running at the moment called “The road home”. The Khmer middle and upper class—at least not Hun Sen’s mates—can no longer hit Hong Kong or Singapore for shopping and travel. Full of rich imagery, it pushes people to travel back home—to the provinces.

More offerings might help. Photo: Stuart McDonald.

Mega–travel companies talk this stuff down. Why? They don’t profit off of it near as much. Their cash cows are international inbounds. Talking head panels, with not one voice for public health (nor a woman—almost always these are bloke–zooms)‚ make me rage. Where are the voices for local concerns? Where are the talking points about the threat to the capacity of local health systems—and citizens—if the drawbridge is lowered to foreign tourists?

Paying passengers get sick? They get taken home to their first world health care and hospitals. Yet again, developing world locals get left holding the can.

Yes, tourism is a huge employer and wealth generator. The risks of opening to international tourism though are being swept under the carpet by the industry. Tourism has always had mixed effects on destinations—economic, environment, education and so on.

Now, more than ever before though, the primary issue is health—particularly, local health. What are the risks, and how well equiped are countries in Southeast Asia to deal with an imported second, or third wave? These questions must be asked and answered before anything else.

Quarantine comes in many flavours. Hoa Lo, Hanoi. Photo: Stuart McDonald.

Tour companies need to do a far better job of explaining what steps they are taking to guarantee their passengers will not be a risk. I’ve seen almost nothing along these lines. Instead a reliance on destinations sorting it out. Followed by whining when the steps taken to protect local people are not relaxed enough.

We’re over six months into this. Inbound companies are still stuck in the mindset that they need to protect their passengers rather than those in the destination. This must change. They’re responsible for both. Until then, keep the drawbridge up.

It isn’t all bad news though! There are smart companies doing local stuff well. Off the top of my head, Smiling Albino, Sampan Travel, and Hanuman are all doing interesting things. None are budget operators mind you, but the region needs to start somewhere. I’m sure there are plenty of others.

Is the sun setting on free–range travel? Photo: Stuart McDonald.

As I’ve said before, plan your travel down the track independent–style. Contact places you’ve stayed at in the past and make a booking—book direct! Pick a date in the far future. These deposits will make an immense difference to small, family owned businesses. Your money could well make the difference between their kids staying in (or getting to) school or not. What Travelfish reader has not sat in a family owned guesthouse lobby as the kids get off to school?

I know many Travelfish readers already know this region well. You’ve been here before, I know that. You keep emailing me anecdotes from 1968 (when I wasn’t born) or 1972 (when I was born, but couldn’t travel; because I was in a cot). You’ve caught the crappy bus and/or the half sinking ferry. You’ve not only stayed at places, you’ve made friends with owners and staff, right across the region. You’ve met the people. You know what I’m talking about.

This is what travel is all about.

Even if the doors were open, how many could/would/should come? Koh Rong, Cambodia. Photo: Stuart McDonald.

If you were thinking of making a donation to our crowdfunding this week, please don’t.

Instead contact your favourite place in the region and send them $5 or $20 or hell, just a nice note. Tell them when sanity returns, you’ll be there for opening night.

Because that’s where we all want to be.

Travel local

Stuart

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