Both UN Tourism and PATA point to an acceleration in the recovery of tourism in Asia and the Pacific in 2024
As Asia and the Pacific lifted restrictions for international travellers at the end of 2022, tourism recovery became visible in 2023, supported by strong pent-up demand. According to UN Tourism, total arrivals to this part of the world were 35% below the pre-Covid performance of 2019. However, Asia and the Pacific earned 78% of its pre-pandemic receipts, a remarkable result when compared to its recovery in arrivals last year.
Based on numbers released by the Pacific Asia Travel Association, in 2023 Asia welcomed close to 342.9 million international visitor arrivals (IVA) while the Pacific saw a total IVA reaching 23.7 million.
In its forecast, PATA estimates that Asia will add another 100 million IVA this year, putting total international visitor arrivals at just 16% below its 2019 performance. PATA predicts a full recovery by 2025.
Due to a softer-than-expected rebound in Chinese and Japanese outbound traffic, tourism growth in Asia remains slightly weaker than anticipated, according to PATA experts. China’s economic slowdown is triggered by woes in the real estate sector, while pessimism in Japan about the economic situation and a weak yen are limiting outbound trips.
Meanwhile, the Pacific Rim is expected to welcome 28 million IVA in 2024, outperforming 2019 by 1%.
The latest data communicated by UN Tourism points to a positive trend for arrivals to Asia. Between January and July 2024, total tourist arrivals in Asia and the Pacific were just 18% below their 2019 performance. The positive trend is accelerating as recovery reached 85% in June and 86% in July compared to 2019. According to UN Tourism, the best performing regions within Asia are South Asia (-8% compared to 2019) and Southeast Asia (-12%).
UN Tourism points to an increase in air capacity within Asia but also between the continent and the rest of the world. Airlines have particularly added seats between Asia and Europe as well as Asia and the Middle-East. For the IATA winter season, new routes will link Brussels to Bangkok (Thai Airways International), Paris to Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia Airlines) and Manila (Air France), Sydney to Istanbul (Turkish Airlines) while Qatar Airways is boosting frequencies to Bali and Tokyo.
Another positive factor is the easing of visa formalities. China now offers free visas on arrival to many countries for a stay of up to 14 days. Countries such as Indonesia, Japan, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam lifted their requirements or extended the validity of their visa towards travellers in selected markets.
UN Tourism statistics also point to the fact that some countries in the Asia-Pacific are enjoying a stronger recovery than their counterparts.
Top performers are the Maldives with an increase of 19% in international tourist arrivals from January to July 2024, followed by Mongolia (up 13%) and French Polynesia (up 11%). Fiji, Japan and Sri Lanka recorded a growth in arrivals between 7% and 8%.
Vietnam is the top performer in Southeast Asia with total arrivals growing by 2%. Thailand, the busiest tourism destination in Southeast Asia, expects to welcome 36 million international arrivals, just 9% below its 2019 performance.
(source: Pacific Asia Travel Association)
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