I was sitting in my doctor’s office and browsing through his reading materials, I came across comic books about the Monkey King, a main character in the Chinese classical novel, Journey To The West.
Known as Sun Wukong, the Monkey King has been in my consciousness since childhood. Sun Wukong, a monkey born from a stone who acquires supernatural powers through Taoist practices, is to Chinese children what Tin Tin is to children in Europe.
And lately, there’s been a revival of interest in him in Western circles and a new Chinese movie has just been released in time for the new year.
This comic book (there’s a whole series), written in English and illustrated by Wei Dong Chen and Chao Peng, reminded me anew of his powers – he’s extremely strong, amazicircngly fast and knows 72 transformations into various animals and objects. He’s a skilled fighter and knows spells that can command wind and water, as well as freeze humans, demons and gods alike.
It made me think that we in travel might most likely need all these skills for the year ahead which, for the Chinese, will start on February 8 with the Lunar New Year of the Red Fiery Monkey.
From various conversations with industry colleagues, China remains the word on everyone’s lips but with a difference. This time words like “bleeding”, “slowdown” and “clampdown” dominate as opposed to “growth”, “growth” and “more growth” for most of the last few years.
The government austerity drive is beginning to have its effects on the ground, right down to small provinces and tiny villages. Local governments have been ordered to curtail spending and gifting. They now have to account for every item of spending, including use of government vehicles.
One industry observer, based in Shanghai, said that with government, being responsible for 30% of domestic travel as well as the bulk of F&B spending in hotels, hotel groups with exposure in China are “bleeding”.
Development pipeline is being affected of course and I know the China slowdown is concerning a lot of people. After all, it is often said, when China sneezes, the world catches a cold.
For me personally, I think the China slowdown as well as the various challenges facing our world currently, from terrorism to viruses, should be looked at in a positive light. We cannot expect growth to continue forever, even growth needs a break. Mother Earth definitely does.
In the last few years, travel has been growing at such a breakneck speed, powered by low cost airlines, the web and rising incomes, that the industry has paid scant attention to the other side of travel – actually its very bedrock, the environment, nature and heritage. For isn’t this why people travel in the first place – to enjoy nature, discover different heritage and enjoy safe, clean environments?
Pollution in Shanghai and Beijing are at an all-time high, the euphemistically-termed “haze” in South-east Asia was the worst and most protracted ever in 2015, resort destinations like Bali and Phuket have changed beyond recognition – now they are more like urban cities with beaches attached to them, and climate change is changing our perceptions of winters and summers. When I was in Las Vegas and New York in December, Las Vegas was colder than the Big Apple.
“Isn’t this why people travel in the first place – to enjoy nature, discover different heritage and enjoy safe, clean environments?”
Popular destinations are sinking under the weight of mass tourism. Maldives, once an exclusive hard-to-get-to destination, is freely accessible and affordable now. I understand business has been badly hit the past year with the slowdown in Russia, a key market, but again maybe that’s not such a bad thing.
We need to think about what happens when the very assets we sell in travel are being decimated.
Slowdowns allow us time to reflect and opportunity to transform ourselves and our businesses for the next growth curve. It is hard to transform when you’re moving at breakneck speed – even the Monkey King has trouble with that. His tail is his Achilles’ Heel – his transformative powers are inhibited by the “accompanying incomplete transformation of his tail”.
Slowdowns are times of great innovation. The most creative ideas are borne out of necessity. Growth makes us fat and complacent. The Monkey King was always on the move but he also knew when it was time to slow down and learn. It was during his imprisonment under a mountain and the journey west that he learnt and mastered his powers.
And so on the eve of Lunar New Year of the Red Fiery Monkey, I wish all my friends a wise, considered journey to conquer the Golden Travel Mountain.