Cut-rate travel to bust gloom around virus and bush fires
Suppliers sharpen up fares to perk up ‘dampened’ market
Helloworld says suppliers have released deals for a special sales event, partly in response to a “dampened” travel market. The firm’s head of marketing David Libeau said travel in some places had suffered a series of devastating knocks including the Australian bushfires and the coronavirus.
Fares such as $299 return to Australia, was “just the tonic needed for consumers at the moment,” he said.
Bushfires that have ravaged Australia and the coronavirus had hit consumer confidence to start the year but with the rains falling in Australia now, the airlines, hotel companies and tourism businesses were now trying to stimulate the market.
“Consumer feedback is that although China may be a no go area at the moment, they are prepared to book alternate destinations until normal service resumes.”
There was an emphasis on promoting destinations out of Asia but places popular with Kiwis such as Thailand and Bali had shown no drop-off in demand, said Libeau.
Concerns about cruise ships — following two being put in quarantine in Japan and Hong Kong — may put some people off booking voyages to Asia but there were many other destinations and there had been no overall fall in interest, he said.
The three-day sale from today through Saturday includes promotional deals to the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast for a seven-night family holiday from $499 a person,
Although China may be a no-go area at the moment, [consumers] are prepared to book alternate destinations until normal service resumes.
David Libeau, Helloworld travel
Economy flights to Fiji from $499 return; flights to Los Angeles or San Francisco from $899 on Qantas and Fiji Airways and direct to those two US cities on Air NZ for $100 more.
The sale includes New York from $1199 on Qantas ( an indirect flight) and Bali fares for only $699 on Emirates or seven night holidays to the resort island from $899 per person.
Mainland Chinese carriers such as China Eastern, China Southern and Air China has been shedding capacity to this country rapidly because of coronavirus restrictions and the demand was plummeting. Many flights have been suspended until the end of March.
These airlines had been integral in pulling down fares to China, and importantly for Kiwis going on to Europe, but don’t have a big share of the market. Around 40 per cent of traffic to Europe goes through the Middle East and Singapore and Hong Kong, also popular hubs had not been affected, likewise routes through North America.
Libeau said the impact on overall fares would be muted in the first part of the year as most heading for Europe had already booked. Whether the impact of coronavirus would be felt later in the year was unknown and the travel industry had got through other crises such as the 9/11 terror attacks and the Sars outbreak in 2003.
When Chinese carriers did re-enter the market there would be some good promotional deals, he said.
Helloworld executive general manager, Simon McKearney, said its trade partners recognised the need to start to change the negative sentiment being seen.
Tourism Australia launched an $80 million campaign to attract foreign visitors and domestic tourists following the bush fires in January.