Market: AUSTRALIA

OVERVIEW

Visitor Numbers

According to the latest available Destination Canada statistics, in February there were 13,605 arrivals to Canada from Australia, which translates into an increase of 20.2% compared to last year during the same period. However, significant growth was limited to British Columbia, while the provinces of Ontario & Alberta experienced a decrease in visitors over the same time.

Consumer & Operator Behaviour

Many operators are now preparing their winter 2018 brochures. The market continues to be hungry for non-ski winter product. There’s an opportunity to benefit from consumer interest in winter activities by for instance expanding the date range on what was previously deemed to be more time sensitive product. Think Christmas in November, holidays lights etc.

ECONOMY

The Reserve Bank of Australia forecasts economic growth of 2.4% with an inflation rate of 2.1%. Unemployment is also steady & relatively low at 5.9%. In the short-term this means that consumer confidence as well as spending is healthy & thus spending on luxury items such as travel will not be hampered. In the long-term, it means that the key demographic of young retirees (55+) will have much less disposable income available for long-haul travel.

FORECAST

Although the majority of summer sales tends to already be on the books by now, historically this market has always taken advantage of picking-up still available & washed inventory as the summer season progresses. This year, as inventory is tighter in various key areas across Canada than in the past few years, there is/will be less opportunity to increase sales results with mid to late season bookings.

Threats:

• Canada is now competing with long-haul destinations that were previously not ever considered budget but are now touted as such. For instance Flight Centre’s founder Graham ‘Skroo’ Turner sings the praises of The UK as a budget destination for Aussie travellers since flights are cheap & the pound is weaker.
• Household debt is of concern as it is high at 211.8% of disposable income compared to 175.1% in Canada, especially keeping in mind that ours is already high compared to many developed countries. In the long-term this affects the spending habits of retirees who make up a large part of long-haul destination travellers.

Opportunities:

• From December 1, 2017 to February 4, 1028 Air Canada will operate non-stop flights between Vancouver & Melbourne. These are the first ever non-stop flights between Canada & this southern Australian city. Boeing 787—900 Dreamliners will fly 4x a week. The flights are intended to appeal to the corporate as well as winter vacation markets.

Market: China

OVERVIEW

More and more Chinese people are travelling outside China but even though it’s growing, Canada does not receive the share it should. Our price makes us less attractive than other destinations so the growth is slow. The MICE market, however, shows a healthy sign; there are big groups that are coming to Toronto in May, and AMWAY China is sending its 2,000 members to Seattle for Alaska cruise.

ECONOMY

The overall economy is slowing down but China outbound tourism continues to grow. Not only that we see an increase from the older generations who are travelling, but we also see the growth from the younger demographic.

FORECAST

From travel agents perspective, the number for this coming summer looks really good, but we don’t know how strong it will get.

Market: Taiwan

OVERVIEW

We see strong demand for this coming summer and one of the main reasons is because of the strong Taiwan dollar against Canadian dollar. We also see attractive air fare offers from China Airlines and EVA Air. In June, we will see the increase in air capacity due to the additional flight from Air Canada. The 2- nation vacation is still very popular and visiting family and friends is also the driving factor for visiting Canada. A large number of Taiwanese were immigrating to Canada around 20 years ago.

ECONOMY

Taiwan’s economy is expected to continue its recovery as the global economy improves but the upward swing is expected to remain gradual due to an uncertainty international and domestic political
environment. Taiwan’s outbound tourism, however, continues to be busy.

FORECAST

We see more and more FIT travellers and also an increase in older groups because of their flexible schedule. Many Taiwanese still likes to visit the west coast but east coast is getting popular too, so it will not be a surprise if we soon will have a direct flight to Toronto.

Market: Japan

OVERVIEW

Leisure travel for the Vancouver, Victoria, Whistler and Aurora programs continues to perform well — selling well in March and April. Majority of the tours are combined with pre- and post-stay in Vancouver, the Rockies or Niagara Falls; however, the demand for the Rockies programs is weak. This may be due to the tour price which may be higher than other destinations such as Australia and New Zealand.

The demand for the two-nation vacation continues to increase and the popular itineraries are New York and Niagara Falls or Las Vegas and Vancouver. And thanks to our image as a great and safe destination, our educational market was performing really well in March.

We see strong demand and received a lot of request for FIT business during shoulder and off season using Online Travel Agent – Dynamic Packaging.

ECONOMY

Japan’s economy is still not fully recovered yet; consumer spending is still weak and there is a deflation issue in Japan. There is so much uncertainty. People are watching their spending. In March and April, however, the number of Japanese people travelling outside has been up, and this was due to strong Japanese Yen against other currencies including the US dollar. The Japan GDP growth rate is minimal and there’s a concern over China’s economic slowdown. We have very steady reliable party in the cabinets of our government & we hope our Japanese Yen to remain strong for the rest of the year.

FORECAST

We see some strong corporate business for this summer and fall seasons. The demand for fall packages starts picking up, and in the fall there will be charter flights again from the secondary cities in Japan.

The second quarter looks really good especially in June. In leisure market, escorted groups start picking up in June. Tour package including Rockies and Niagara Falls are also picking up. We receive more quotation requests due to 150th anniversary of Canada. We are experiencing a great difficulty to confirm the space in the Rockies in summer months. This will affect not only Rockies stay programs but also multiple cities tour programs as well.

FIT business will continue to be strong but at the same time we see big pressure with accommodations across Canada for this year. Corporate market is continuously be active especially financial sector.

Market: South Korea

OVERVIEW

Korean travelers to Canada showed rapid growth last year and 2016 was a peak year with a 30% increase from 2015 and we expected this growth will be continuing in 2017 as well. However, during the first five months of 2017, the number of travelers was much lower than expected because of the impeachment of the previous President of South Korea and the general election. The current tension between North Korea and the USA are also one of the reasons.

ECONOMY

According to OECD, economic growth continued at a moderate pace in 2016 and is projected to edge up to 2-3% in 2017-18. The total contribution of Travel & Tourism to GDP was 5.1% of GDP in 2016 and is expected to grow by 3.1% in 2017. However, the scandal of the President of South Korea consumed the country and growth is slowing.

FORECAST

The general election is scheduled to be held on May 9. After the election, it is expected to proceed on a stable path. The booking number for June is already increasing. The market growth is expected to accelerate in the second half of the year.