International visitor arrivals to Asia Pacific destinations grew by +8% in HY1 and are on target to hit 495m this year.

 

According to the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), traffic levels have “expanded at better than eight per cent over the first part of the year”, according to preliminary estimates and across the 31 destinations for which data is currently available.

 

PATA says this is equivalent to more than 8m additional arrivals over and above those received for the corresponding periods of last year.

 

PATA also pats itself on the back, pointing out that these results are consistent with its growth predictions, positioning the region to achieve an expected international inbound volume of around 495m for the full 2013 calendar year.

 

So far, first half results for 2013 are available for 16 of the Asia Pacific destinations, but these are pretty indicative, since they account for 84% of the inbound arrivals volume so far this year – and at close to 145m foreign arrivals, are within three per cent of PATA’s forecast report.

 

Martin Craigs, CEO of PATA said: “Forecasts with this degree of accuracy, detail and a timely quarterly update are essential if we are to effectively respond to opportunities as they emerge. Additionally, numbers such as these alert investors to the risks – and of course the many rewards offered by Asia Pacific’s world-leading visitor economy.”

 

SEVERAL DESTINATIONS ‘PERFORMING WELL’

PATA adds that a number of these destinations are performing well above expectations, with Japan surprisingly rebounding at a much faster rate than predicted with an inbound volume of around five million as of June this year. Thailand, a rapidly growing source market for Japan, has generated growth in arrivals of almost 53% so far this year and that is expected to grow even more strongly since the visa exemption took effect on July 1, 2013.

 

The Maldives is another destination that is performing well above predicted expectations with continued growth coming out of the China market, but also with substantial gains from a number of other areas including Central & Eastern Europe and West Asia.

 

A total of 41 destinations are covered in PATA’s Asia Pacific Visitor Forecasts 2013-17 report, with predicted volume flows by origin given quarterly over a five-year horizon until 2017.

 

This year PATA is expecting 364.57m visitor arrivals, followed by 384.14m in 2014; 403.93m in 2015; 423.75m in 2016; and 443.49m in 2017 (Source: PATA “Asia Pacific Visitor Forecasts 2013-2017”, Hong Kong Polytechnic University (2013).

 

Forecast data from PATA is available at PATA’s online database at www.PATAmPower.org

 

[TOP IMAGE: Hong Kong International Airport].