Other than makers of face masks, hand sanitisers, toilet paper and instant noodles, it is hard to think of anyone who’s not been affected adversely by this global virus scare.
Every day, my inbox is filled with news of events being cancelled or postponed – the biggest one of which was the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, which said it had to cancel because it had become “impossible” to stage the event following pullouts from exhibitors and attendees. In Singapore, EmTech Asia has been postponed from this month to June.
I suspect this is only the beginning of things to come as fear spreads and countries start slapping arbitrary restrictions on travel. It’s been a confusing time for everyone. Singapore was the first to put restrictions on travellers from China. Thailand has kept its doors open. This week, Sarawak ruled that arrivals from Singapore will have to be quarantined for 14 days at home. Qatar and Kuwait have issued travel advisories on Singapore.
And spare a thought for those poor cruise passengers onboard MS Westerdam who were turned away from five places – Thailand, Taiwan, Guam, the Philippines and Japan – before being allowed to disembark in Sihanoukville, Cambodia. And those passengers onboard the Diamond Princess quarantined in the port of Yokohama.
For the first time in my life, I am wondering if my right to travel will be taken away from me because I live in the hot spot of Singapore, the second most affected place by the coronavirus (to date), and whose government has raised the alert level to Orange.
Indeed, I was supposed to travel to an event in the UK at the end of February but an update from the organisers advised that “if you have travelled to any of the above countries – mainland China, Thailand, Japan, Republic of Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia or Macau – in the last 14 days, we recommend that you do not travel” to the event. Technically, this means all of us who live in these countries should not go to the event, which is mind-blowing when you think of it.
Now in case you think we are all cowering in our homes – and this is where it gets surreal – life continues as normal for most of us. We go to meetings, we have lunches and dinners, we catch up with friends – yes, we are washing our hands more often, having our temperatures checked, and some are wearing masks – but with each day, the abnormal becomes normal so that it becomes the new normal.
I am glad to see that at least one travel organisation, the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA), daring to question governments who have introduced various measures including travel advisories, border entry restrictions and quarantine requirements.
Andrew Herdman, AAPA director-general, said, “Regrettably, some of these measures, whilst well-intentioned seem to lack any proper public health justification, whilst causing significant and widespread disruption to travel and trade activities across the world. Arbitrary restrictions and blanket travel bans are inconsistent with the International Health Regulations and result in unnecessary inconvenience and added uncertainty amongst members of the public.”
I asked a couple of industry leaders what they thought of Herdman’s comments and they said it was “brave”.
Well, perhaps bravery is exactly what we need at this time. And it’s encouraging to read of reports of bravery and kindness from our travel brethren.
For example, a report from Marco Polo Wuhan said that general manager Lee Weng Wai gave up his and his wife’s evacuation seats back to Malaysia to ride out the storm with his staff. The hotel has opened its doors to accommodate over 20 officials from the Beijing Central Government’s Inspection Unit as well as over 200 Emergency Medical Workers from the China-Japan Friendship Hospital and Beijing Hospital, both based in Beijing, and welcomed one of the country’s top academic scientists, Wang Chen, who are addressing the outbreak with their expertise. Then you have Shangri-La Wuhan preparing more than 1,000 meals a day to local hospitals and facilities.
I am sure there are more such acts of bravery and kindness in our industry that will go unreported.
It’s hard to be brave though in the face of so much fear. Flying back from Penang to Singapore on Monday, the day after the alert level was raised to Orange, I noticed suspicious eyes looking at each other. Is she Singaporean? Is she a lethal weapon? I never thought living in the Little Red Dot would actually mean having a red dot on my back, and I feel a sense of empathy for my Chinese friends who were similarly viewed and targeted.
The flight was probably 30% full, and I’d estimate about 30% were wearing masks. I observed my fellow passenger removing his mask to eat and then putting it back on. I overheard commentary from a group, recounting the number of cases and how to stay safe. Everyone’s an expert now.
The media briefing by the Singapore Tourism Board this week was packed – even though they are telling us to avoid crowded places. Clearly, the human desire for reassurance and curiosity outweighed fear – at times like these, people want to know what’s going on and people want to be with other people, even though any of us could be the germ carrier.
It was brave of the STB to go ahead with the media briefing and it is being brave about the crisis – an up to 30% cut in visitor arrivals expected – but hey, it said, let’s prepare for the future. It is being open in its communication and I believe, at times like these, there is no such thing as over-communication.
People want to know what’s going on and just knowing that you’re not alone in this gives comfort. You know the old adage about “no news is good news”. In this case, I’d be suspicious if I was getting no news … and in the longterm, trust is the one bond that must not be broken in the pact between leaders and those they are responsible for.
Speaking of trust, I had a deep dive lesson, literally, about trust this week. I interviewed Anqi Lim, Singapore’s free diving national champion, for my podcast and man, did it open up a whole new world for me, 70% of the world, literally.
This super girl, who gave up a banking career for a life in diving, can go two minutes without oxygen and her deepest dive is 70m – the world record is 115m – as a reference, Singapore’s Shaw Tower is 134m and it was the highest in Singapore when it opened in 1975.
The trick to holding one’s breath, she says, is “complete relaxation” and “trusting” your body and not letting your mind play tricks on you – for example, telling you that you’re running out of oxygen when actually it’s the build-up in carbon dioxide that’s freaking you out.
“The moment you start to get anxious, that’s when you lose it,” said Anqi whose latest project is the Sea Glass Project, in which she makes jewellery out of the rubbish she picks up on beaches, turning discarded sea glass into wearable art. (Contact Anqi via IG @anqiunderwater )
Hers are wise words to heed at this time. Relax, hold your breath, control your thoughts (don’t read all the stuff that’s freaking you out) and continue abnormally until it becomes normal.
And as an added bonus, I am going to share with you some stats on the growing dive tourism market and you could see this as a new opportunity for your business at this time.
These are statistics I got from PADI Asia Pacific (inclusive of the area including/bordered by New Zealand, Australia, Tonga, Polynesia, India and the rest of South-west Asia, South-east Asia, China, Philippines, Japan and Korea)
- PADI members worldwide certified more PADI divers in 2019 than any year in our history.
- PADI members worldwide conducted more than 1 million PADI certifications in 2019.
- PADI members in Asia Pacific certified more divers in 2019 than any year in our history. This is the 10th year in succession that our members in Asia Pacific have set a new benchmark for PADI certifications.
- PADI had more retail & resort members in 2019 than any year in our history (worldwide)
- PADI Freediver certifications are the fastest growing segment of PADI certifications overall (worldwide)
- PADI members in Asia Pacific certify more Freediver students than any PADI office in the world.
- In the years 2016–2019, PADI Freediver certifications in Asia Pacific have increased at a CAGR of 80%.
Breathing better?
• Featured image credit (free diving): Claudio Bonato