THAILAND: Phi Phi Islands Short Of Drinking Water Caused By Many Tourists

It is only natural to cast a backwards glance at the year that was. For travel, the past 12 months have been dominated by one increasingly pertinent problem: overtourism. From urban honeypots such as Amsterdam, Barcelona, Kyoto and beautiful Tung Chung, to tropical hotspots Boracay and Maya Bay, the consequences of unmanaged visits from ever-swelling hordes have become impossible to ignore.

Sadly, it doesn’t look like the issue will have abated as the opening bars of Auld Lang Syne usher in the new year.

During the driest period of the year – from November to April – the island is packed with tourists, causing water demand to rise sharply.

Koh Phi Phi Don – the largest of the Phi Phi Islands, which are also home to ill-fated Maya Bay – is in the grip of a drinking water crisis. Of course, too many thirsty tourists are to blame.

Researchers from Kasetsart University found that freshwater sources on the 9.7 sq km island cannot meet demand from the rising number of visitors, particularly during peak season.

Sitang Pilailar, Kasetsart’s lead researcher, said: During the driest period of the year – from November to April – the island is packed with tourists, causing water demand to rise sharply, and meanwhile there’s no rain to refill the two freshwater ponds that are the only sources for piped water on the island.

Consider that these two limited sources are expected to cater to the thousands of tourists occupying the 205 water-guzzling hotels on Koh Phi Phi Don listed on TripAdvisor and it quickly becomes apparent why the island is struggling to cope.

Local government official Phankam Kittithonkul said that although the issue was not new, it had become too big for local residents to resolve on their own, adding that the 170 million baht (US$5.1 million) administration budget for the island, which is allocated by the central government according to population, did not take visitor numbers into account.

There are thought to be between 2,000 and 3,000 permanent residents on Koh Phi Phi Don; presumably, the island’s freshwater sources are sufficient to provide for their much more modest needs.

So, what can be done by you, the travelling sponge? Well, the easy answer is: stay away. Or, if you are concerned about water scarcity and you should be, at our current rate of consumption, two-thirds of the world population could face shortages by 2025, according to the global conservation body WWF.

Choose to stay in properties that recycle greywater and harvest rainwater – they might not sound sexy, but such undertakings help reduce your impact on the environment.

On that note, maybe don’t indulge in that extra-long shower next time you holiday, something many of us are guilty of doing. On its website, the International Tourism Partnership (ITP) notes: In most countries, water consumption per guest in hotels vastly exceeds that of the local population. Island nations and tourism destinations are often most at risk of water shortages.

In August, ITP, the self-declared voice for social and environmental responsibility in the hotel industry, published the Destination Water Risk Index, which identifies locations in which water risk is highest, in an effort to raise awareness and encourage the implementation of stewardship strategies such as greywater and rainwater recycling at properties in the worst-affected areas.

According to the list, the 12 locations most at risk of water stress are Beijing, Hangzhou, Qingdao and Xian, in China; New Delhi and Mumbai, in India; Bali, Jakarta and Surabaya, in Indonesia; Manila, in the Philippines; Bangkok, in Thailand; and Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates.

That’s right, all 12 are in Asia, and while the list is angled towards the hospitality industry, it should not be ignored by those of us who depend on that industry when we travel – so almost all of us, in other words.


Tourism Observer

CANADA: Beijing Capital Airlines Begins Thrice Weekly Service Between Vancouver And Hangzhou, Via Qingdao

Beijing Capital Airlines has launched new thrice weekly service between Vancouver and Hangzhou, via Qingdao, giving Canadians easy access to two key hubs in China.

The new service, which launched on Jan. 6, between YVR and Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport (HGH) via Qingdao Liuting International Airport (TAO) is flown on an Airbus 330, with seating for 22 passengers, including 36 in Business and 186 in Economy. Capital Airlines is the sixth mainland Chinese carrier to service YVR – two more than any other airport in North America or Europe.

“I would like to thank Capital Airlines for choosing YVR as its first North American destination,” said Craig Richmond, YVR’s President and CEO. “This new service opens up two amazing new Chinese destinations for all of Canada and is another key milestone in our vision of connecting Asia to the Americas.”

Added Mr. Xu Xin, Chairman of Capital Airlines: “The new Vancouver–Qingdao–Hangzhou route will provide more choices and convenience for travellers and will further strengthen economic and cultural ties between Canada and China. Capital Airlines strives to be a leading brand in the international tourism and air travel industry and we are looking forward to working with YVR.”

In addition to strengthening business and tourism opportunities between China and Canada, this route will have a positive impact on the local economy. The new service brings 123 jobs and $6.2 million in GDP to the province of British Columbia and will add $4.2 million in wages and $2.3 million in taxes.

Located in the central eastern coast of China, Hangzhou is among the country’s seven most ancient cities and is famous for West Lake, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that has had a profound impact on poets, painters and designers throughout Chinese history. Qingdao, located in northeast China, is a major seaport and industrial centre. In addition to hosting the world’s longest sea bridge, Qingdao is well-known for its diverse economy focused on heavy industry, software, automotive, electronics and banking—and the famous Tsingtao Brewery, the second largest in China.

SINGAPORE: uberPOOL Grows In Singapore

Those who have travelled to places like Los Angeles and New York in recent years may have come across a service called uberPOOL, an option within the Uber app that allows you to share your journey with strangers to reduce the cost of your trip. You save around 25% on your journey, with the only downside being occasional delays as you pick up another uberPOOL rider.

It first launched in San Francisco in August 2014, before expanding to cities like LA, New York, Boston, London and Paris. Already, uberPOOL accounts for 20% of all Uber rides around the world. Just take a look at the large number of cities to get their hands on the service so far:

US & Canada: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, Miami, Philadelphia, New Jersey, New York, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Toronto, Washington DC
Mexico: Mexico City
Brazil: Sao Paulo
France: Paris
China: Beijing, Changsha, Chengdu, Chongqing, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Ningbo, Qingdao, Shanghai, Shenzen, Suzhou, Tianjin, Wuhan
UK: London
India: Bangalore, New Delhi

This month, the service continued its international roll out, with the focus now on South East Asia, a region which has already adopted similar services like GrabHitch, launched in Singapore and Malaysia in November 2015. Earlier this month, UberPool made its debut in Manila, while Jakarta got it last month. Singapore is next on the list, with the service set to launch tomorrow – July 1st.

So what about Australia? Though no plans have been officially announced, the South East Asia expansion would suggest that Australia will be next on their list. It was reported all the way back in September 2014 that the service was eyeing Sydney, and the Daily Telegraph reported in February of this year that Sydney’s uberPOOL services weren’t far off.

While we wait for the carpooling service to launch, however, Australia has had plenty of other updates: Last week, Uber launched service to Canberra Airport, finally introduced Uber X to Adelaide in May (with unlimited free rides to roll it out) and has been rolling out the popular UberEATS around the country. Here’s hoping uberPOOL is soon added to the list. But in the meantime, our friends in South East Asia have the new service to enjoy!

CHINA: New Hospitals Target Chinese Medical Tourists In China

Chinese healthcare groups seek to stop Chinese going overseas for care and tests. Developer Dalian Wanda is investing $2.3 billion in private hospitals in Shanghai, Chengdu, and Qingdao.

Several Chinese healthcare groups are targeting those Chinese who tend to go overseas with a range of new facilities offering tests and surgery. Reversing the trend of outbound Chinese medical tourists is now a question of when not if.

Chinese domestic medical tourism is increasing and these hospitals and clinics target the better off Chinese who can afford to travel for treatment.

Developer Dalian Wanda is investing $2.3 billion in private hospitals in Shanghai, Chengdu, and Qingdao by building three hospitals run by British healthcare operator International Hospitals Group. These hospitals target the affluent consumer in China who travels to the UK and the USA for a variety of medical treatments because they do not trust doctors at home. The other target is the growing middle-class traveller drawn to Hong Kong and South Korea.

Ciming Health Checkup Management Croup plans to save the long-distance trips by those seeking advanced medical services abroad by bringing in some of the best foreign doctors, medicines and equipment to a hospital and a fertility centre in the pilot medical tourism zone in the southern Chinese island province of Hainan.

The Hainan Boao Lecheng International Medical Tourism Pilot Zone seeks to be a major medical tourism destination within 10 years. The central government is supporting its development by offering a number of preferential policies under which foreign companies can set up medical organizations in the zone and foreign doctors are allowed to practise there for up to three years.20 medical projects, including Ciming's, are being established in the zone, which began construction in August 2015 and is expected to start operation in 2017.

The pilot zone offers international investors a number of preferential policies including:

- Fast-track approval for new drugs, technology and medical devices
- Extending up to three years the time foreign doctors are allowed to practice medicine
- Allowing 100% foreign direct investment and ownership in hospitals
- Reduction of tariffs on medical devices and equipment

It is expected that in the next several years, 10% of overnight visitors to the Pilot Zone will be medical tourists, mostly domestic, accounting for 20% of Hainan’s tourism industry revenue.