Travellers ditching their plans for the March school holidays and spring season are pivoting to staycations as the coronavirus contagion spreads overseas.
Hotels facing a dearth of international visitors have rolled out staycation packages with more perks for Singaporeans even as travel agencies report cancelled, postponed and re-routed trips.
The one-week school break from Saturday to March 22 overlaps with the spring holidays in East Asia, which include the popular cherry blossom festivals in Japan and South Korea.
The two destinations, which form 25 per cent of Dynasty Travel's overall market segments, have been cancelling the blossom revelry amid the coronavirus outbreak.
Overall this year, tours that have been derailed are primarily to China, South Korea, Japan and Iran, said Ms Alicia Seah, the agency's director of public relations and communications.
"Seventy per cent postponed and cancelled their tours, and 30 per cent re-routed to places such as Australia, New Zealand, Turkey, Russia and Greece," she said.
Guided holidays to Italy in March have been cancelled by The Travel Corporation (TTC), whose brands include Trafalgar, Insight Vacations and Contiki.
March, however, is still an off-peak travel season for the company. Guests travelling on or after April 1 can postpone their holiday or pick another destination without any cancellation charge 30 days prior to their trip.
"With this policy in place, the majority of our guests remain resilient, and we have managed to retain 96 per cent of our bookings with 4 per cent opting to cancel or postpone their holidays," said Mr Nicholas Lim, TTC's managing director for Asia.
Housewife Jasmine Chan, 40, decided against an overseas trip for March as her three daughters are still young at ages five, seven and 10. She switched to Sentosa, a family favourite.
"Sentosa is at least something different because it is an island. My kids like the beach," she said.
Hotels have created staycation packages with bigger and fancier perks, from rum appreciation classes at Capella Singapore to a picnic basket at Rendezvous Hotel Singapore.
Late check-outs are always attractive: Sofitel Singapore City Centre lets staycationers leave at 6pm so they can sleep in or luxuriate in the hotel.
Rather than discounted stays, many hotels prefer giving perks such as spa credits or a bottle of wine, or focusing on experiences such as a special counter for children to check in their family at Village Hotel Sentosa.
"To attract Singaporean guests, hotels prefer to use package deals rather than discounts," said Mr Chew Kian Beng, course chair for the diploma in hospitality and tourism management at Temasek Polytechnic. "Discounts or reducing room rates do not generate more volume in a low market demand situation."
Instead, discounts can affect profits, earning potential and ultimately, the brand's reputation, he said.
Mr Michael Issenberg, chief executive officer of Accor Asia-Pacific, said: "Singaporeans have always been enthusiastic staycationers."
They accounted for 11 per cent of business in Accor's 30 properties here, among them Raffles Hotel and Fairmont Singapore.
"While business is slightly down for staycations from January to February, we are starting to see higher bookings for March as people have been at home for a while and are looking to get out again."
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