|
Preliminary figures from PATA indicate that the
numbers of international visitors to the Asia Pacific region fell
by an estimated 3% year-on-year for calendar year 2009, a much
improved result considering the fact that the rate of decline was
6% for the first half of the year.
The stronger-than-expected pick up in travel
demand in the second half of the year saw visitor arrivals to the
region grow by 1% year-on-year in the July-December period.
Southeast Asia emerged as the only sub-region in
Asia Pacific to record a full-year gain in international arrivals
during 2009. Visitor numbers rose 1% year-on-year, supported by
Myanmar (+26%), Malaysia (+7%), Indonesia (+1%) and Cambodia
(+2%). Thailand, Singapore, and Vietnam, on the other hand,
recorded full-year declines of 3%, 4% and 10% respectively.
Arrivals to Northeast Asia fell by 2% in 2009, the second
straight year of decline for the sub-region after a similar 2%
fall in 2008. The full-year arrivals numbers were down for Japan
(- 19%), Macau SAR (- 5%) and China (- 3%) while Chinese
Taipei (+14%) and Korea (ROK) (+13%) posted increased visitor
numbers. Hong Kong SAR recorded a marginal 0.3% increase in
arrivals for the year.
South Asia recorded a 3% decline
in visitor arrivals in 2009, driven by a similar3% fall in
arrivals to India. While growth in arrivals to India remained
sluggish in the second half of the year, arrivals rebounded
strongly for Sri Lanka and Nepal during the period resulting in
full-year gains to those destinations of 2% and 1%
respectively.
Visitor arrivals to the Pacific declined by
2% in 2009 mainly on sharp falls in visitor numbers to Guam (-
8%) and Hawaii (- 4%). Arrivals to Australia and New Zealand were
flat.
The Americas recorded the largest decline in arrivals
among the sub-regions with an estimated 6% fall for the full
year. The numbers of international visitor arrivals to Canada, the
USA and Mexico were down for the year while Chile recorded a 1%
increase.
Kris Lim, Director of PATA’s Strategic
Intelligence Centre (SIC), said, “We ended the year on a positive
note with international visitor arrivals to Asia Pacific shores
growing by 4% year-on-year in December. This is by far the
largest monthly growth in 2009. It has been an extremely
challenging year but not the worst on record in growth terms ... Arrivals fell even more sharply in 2003, by
7%, as the
SARS crisis impacted severely on international travel. The
recovery in 2010 is, however, unlikely to follow the V-shaped
rebound of 2004. We are better placed now than six months ago as
the economic climate continues to improve. The IMF is now
expecting stronger growth of 3.9% for the world’s economy this
year, with ‘developing Asia’ leading the way at 8.4%.”
See other recent news regarding:
Airlines,
Airports,
Flights,
Codeshare,
Lounges,
First Class,
Business Class,
MICE,
GDS,
Rewards,
Miles,
Hotels,
Apartments,
Promotions,
Spas,
New Hotels,
Traffic,
Visitor Arrivals,
Cruises,
Free Deals,
Videos,
PATA
|
