VTL has created sustained interest in Germany tours: travel agencies

Singapore

A MONTH since the Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) to Germany was announced, travel agencies have seen rising interest among leisure travellers from Singapore, whether for group tours or bespoke itineraries.

But many are likely still holding off, said the agencies, who expect a further revival of leisure travel to require similar arrangements with more destinations, and a stabilisation of the Covid-19 situation at home.

Since Sept 8, fully vaccinated travellers arriving from Germany on designated VTL flights can undergo a testing regime in lieu of serving a stay-home notice (SHN). Vaccinated travellers from Singapore do not have to serve a quarantine in Germany either.

Following the news, various mass-market tour agencies launched Germany-specific offerings.

Dynasty Travel has received about 30 enquiries - both for group departures and customised itineraries - with 60 per cent leading to confirmed bookings for two to 12 travellers, said director of public relations and communications Alicia Seah.

As Covid-19 prompts "more conservative and cautious" travelling, group tours can prove key to the comeback of outbound leisure travel, said Chan Brothers Group managing director Anthony Chan. "The role of a travel agency will grow to be more important than ever before as Covid-19 hassles weigh on travellers."

Chan Brothers Travel's Germany VTL microsite features a newly created package tour, with the first departure on Oct 11. "We are also seeing rising demand and bookings for departures from October to December as well currently," said senior marketing communications manager Jeremiah Wong.

ASA Holidays has also created new itineraries, and is "receiving an influx of enquiries to depart during the year end", said Europe product planner Chu Sheng, adding that the preference is for group tours "as our customers are inclined to an environment that gives them more protection".

Boutique agencies have responded too, such as Intriq Journey, which added a Germany itinerary and has another coming soon. After the VTL announcement, there was a 40 per cent rise in enquiries year-to-date, with bookings from end-September till December, said director Jess Yap. Before Covid-19, Germany was not among their top 10 destinations.

"While Germany and Brunei haven't exactly been traditional popular travel destinations for Singaporeans, we've certainly seen a shift in sentiment off the back of this announcement," said Mike Harlow, general manager of luxury tour operator Scott Dunn Asia.

The VTL news helped to push overall travel demand, not just for Germany, he added. Scott Dunn Asia saw enquiries quadruple, and more than triple the number of new bookings - "in the medium double-digit range" - compared to the month before.

At bespoke travel specialist Quotient Travel, nearly two-thirds of requests handled in the last four weeks have been for Germany, with durations ranging from 10 to 25 days.

Requests are "in the double digits", said co-founder and managing director Javiny Lim, adding: "It's important to note that the nature of the business - high-end travel with personalised itineraries and no fixed departure dates - is not a high-volume one."

"Some travellers may be holding back their travel plans for VTL arrangements in other parts of Europe or the world," she added, with destinations such as Italy and Switzerland being more desirable.

Dynasty Travel's Ms Seah notes that having to travel only within Germany is a constraint for package tours; pre-pandemic, travellers preferred to visit cities in multiple European countries on the same trip.

On Monday, Minister for Transport S Iswaran said that several countries and regions have expressed interest in opening VTLs with Singapore, and authorities "are actively working on expanding the scheme in the coming weeks and months".

These comments may lead to "a positive impact on reservations... as travellers feel more confident that the VTL is set to stay," said Mae Cheah, Asia president of Trafalgar.

"Singaporeans are very keen to travel but some are hesitant due to unknown factors like insurance coverage and travel curtailment due to changes in regulations," she added.

After the initial VTL news, Trafalgar saw enquiries for travel to Germany and Switzerland rise 85 per cent for December till January, with "an immediate surge from the announcement and a month on, a steady stream of enquiries", she said.

Trafalgar has fielded over 450 enquiries, with more bookings in January and February for the Lunar New Year period - 35 per cent higher than November and December bookings.

Availability for 2022 to Europe and places such as Canada "is actually becoming really challenging since they are also open to other larger markets like the US and also because of the overall pent-up demand to travel", said Scott Dunn's Mr Harlow.

"We are looking forward to seeing more countries make it to the VTL or Category 1 classification as the sudden surge in demand for a limited range of destinations has made it trickier to find and secure availability," he added, referring to countries from which travellers do not have to serve an SHN.

Available destinations aside, most travellers may be taking a wait-and-see approach despite being keen to travel, to see how the situation develops, said Intriq Journey's Ms Yap.

The numerous polymerase chain reaction Covid-19 tests required for the VTL - four, including one in Germany - are also a deterrent, and the rise in Delta-variant cases has caused concern that Singapore might change its entry requirements, she said.

Travellers who are currently sitting on the fence might be persuaded to book a trip if there is a longer list of countries from which arrivals need only serve a seven-day SHN, or no SHN at all; and if case numbers trend down or stabilise, said Ms Lim.

"Greater flexibility around SHN would also be welcomed," she added, suggesting that friends who go on a holiday together could be allowed to serve their SHN together, instead of in their respective own residences.

But she notes another constraint of the VTL: as it is meant only for vaccinated travellers, families with young children are ineligible, and "it is unclear when this group will be able to enjoy a quarantine or SHN-free holiday".

Quotient Travel has mainly fielded enquiries from couples in their 30s and 40s.