Asia Pacific: Travel Up By 10% For Q1 2010

According to PATA, travel demand in Asia Pacific registered a 10% increase in Q1 2010, from the same quarter in 2009.

International visitor arrivals to South Asia grew by 17% year-on-year in the first quarter. Arrival growth was very strong for Nepal (+30%), the Maldives (+21%) and Bhutan (+57%) during the first three months of 2010.

Southeast Asia reported strong growth with a collective gain of 16% year-on-year in the first quarter. This was boosted by double-digit growth in international arrivals to Cambodia (+10%), Indonesia (+15%), Myanmar (+39%), Singapore (+20%), Thailand (+28%) and Vietnam (+36%).

Within Northeast Asia, China (PRC) posted a 4% increase in international arrivals with the sub-region as a whole, growing by 8% year-on-year for the period. This strong sub-regional performance was also supported by the SARs of Hong Kong (+17%) and Macau (+12%), Chinese Taipei (+28%) and Japan (+29%). Korea (ROK) however, recorded a 1% decline in arrivals in the first quarter of the year.

International arrivals to the Pacific grew by 6% during the first quarter of 2010, dominated by a 6% increase in visitor numbers to Australia and New Zealand.