Moving forward as we reconnect, rebuild & reinvent

After a two-year hiatus of the global travel industry, I am excited to return doing what I love most and that is creating unforgettable travel experiences in Southeast Asia and beyond.

I began the process of rebuilding Trails of Indochina earlier this year in anticipation of Vietnam’s reopening in March. It has been wonderful to reconnect in-person with my team at our head office in Saigon and regional offices in SE Asia and to meet face-to-face with trade partners around the world. 

Like everywhere else in the world, there is pent-up demand for travel to Southeast Asia. While this is optimistic news, the travel industry is facing a new set of challenges in the post pandemic era. Currently, there is a human resource crisis with staff shortages across all segments of the industry. This has a wide impact from delays in service delivery and availability to price increase, most noticeably in transportation costs. We are still in the early stages of recovery, and I anticipate a year from now, we will be in a better place.

As our travel bookings pick up for 2023, we observe the following key travel trends in the region:

1. Our partner advisors are requesting longer trips for their clients
2. The long-haul trips often include multiple countries.
3. Guests are requesting more outdoor activities as a reaction not only to pandemic confinement but as a generally more active audience across all ages.
4. Custom-tailored experiences are at the core of TOI’s philosophy. It is being reinforced by the myriad requests for private or exclusive experiences.
5. Clients are also chartering more boats and using private aircraft where possible.
6. Couples or friends are banding together to form small groups with a dedicated theme or interest at the heart of the itinerary.

As we move into 2023, I am hopeful that travel interests to Southeast Asia will continue to gain momentum. Albeit the challenges we currently face as an industry, I see this as an opportunity for our company to reinvent our program offerings and services to meet travelers’ expectations in this new era of travel.