According to reports from multiple media outlets, including Skift—a travel industry publication—and Singapore’s daily newspaper The Straits Times, Singapore recorded air quality at levels harmful to health for 19 consecutive days from the 5th to the 23rd of this month. It is reported that some local travel agencies have seen tour package bookings drop by 30–80% compared to usual levels, with cancellation rates reaching 30–50%. It is explained that as travelers avoid outdoor sightseeing, there has been an increase in cases where walking and cycling tours are being replaced with indoor programs or itineraries are being altered.
Indonesia is also taking a direct hit to its air travel and ecotourism sectors. According to Indonesia’s Ministry of Transportation, as of the 19th of this month, 2,604 domestic flights had been disrupted by wildfires and haze. Of these, 1,420 were canceled or postponed, and 1,129 were delayed. Fourteen international flights, including routes between Singapore and Pontianak and Palembang, were also disrupted by the haze.
Cancellations of ecotourism bookings are also on the rise. At Tanjung Puting National Park in Kalimantan, tourists planning to visit to observe orangutans are canceling their reservations in droves. Some travel agencies are reportedly rerouting travelers from Sumatra and Kalimantan to other regions, such as Flores and Sulawesi. Local travel agency Trans Borneo Adventure stated, “All scheduled bookings for the past week have been canceled due to flight suspensions.”
In Malaysia, too, the impact is spreading, particularly within the tourism and aviation sectors. Local travel agencies are modifying itineraries to include indoor attractions such as shopping malls and museums instead of outdoor activities. Local estimates suggest that the economic losses caused by fine dust amount to 20 million to 50 million ringgit (approximately 7 billion to 17.5 billion won) per day. Professor Yeah Kim Leng of the Department of Economics at Sunway University in Malaysia projected that if the fine dust crisis persists for a month, economic losses could reach up to 1.5 billion ringgit.
Forest and peatland fires in the Sumatra and Kalimantan regions of Indonesia are cited as the main causes of this crisis. Analysts say the fires spread due to a combination of burning practices—carried out during the development and maintenance of farmland and palm oil plantations—and the hot, dry weather caused by El Niño. Peatlands, in particular, are known to make firefighting difficult because the flames continue to burn beneath the surface, emitting large amounts of smoke and fine dust. The haze caused by the wildfires is spreading as far as Singapore and Malaysia, carried by the monsoon winds.
Local authorities believe there is a possibility that the fine dust levels will gradually ease starting at the end of this month. The ASEAN Regional Meteorological Center forecasts that rainfall will increase as the monsoon season shifts in late October, which could reduce wildfires and haze. However, it warned that the risk of wildfires and the cross-border spread of haze may persist for the time being, as rainfall in some parts of Southeast Asia is expected to be below average from October through December due to the El Niño phenomenon.
