The Asia Pacific region registered a record 636m foreign arrivals in 2017, nearly 35m more than in 2016, according to a report released by the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA).

Intra-regional travel flows remained very strong for most Asia Pacific regions in 2017 with almost 94% of the foreign arrivals into Asia originating from within Asia itself. For the Americas, the intra-regional proportion of international travel was 78%.

In total, 11 Asia Pacific destinations each received more than one million additional foreign arrivals into their respective destinations between 2016 and 2017. Only four of the 47 destinations reported declines in their inbound foreign arrival numbers, and these ranged from a minor loss of 4,000 arrivals to a much more significant contraction of nearly 3.9m.

Covering 47 destinations across the region with eight in the Americas, 15 in the Pacific and 24 across Asia, the PATA Annual Tourism Monitor 2018 Early Edition reviews foreign arrivals over the past five years.

Asia received the majority of the 636m arrivals registered in 2017 with a 72% share, followed by the Americas with 24% and the Pacific with the remaining four percent. A similar distribution was seen for the additional volume of foreign arrivals generated into each region between 2016 and 2017.

TOP 5 DESTINATIONS IN 2017

In terms of supplier markets into Asia Pacific in 2017, the vast majority of foreign arrivals came from Asia (62%), followed by the Americas (18%) and then Europe (12%).

The Pacific supplied a little over two percent of the total arrivals into Asia Pacific in 2017, followed by Africa with less than one percent. A significant proportion of arrivals (5%) came from origin markets that were unspecified.

NEED FOR ‘CONTINUED POLITICAL HARMONY’

PATA CEO Dr. Mario Hardy noted, “2017 was yet another record year for the aggregate volume of foreign arrivals into Asia Pacific. Significant variability was once again evident with 30 of the 47 destinations covered in this report showing annual growth increases in excess of five percent – in fact 17 of these were in the double-digit growth range, with only a few showing contractions.

“Overall, it was another very robust year for international travel within Asia Pacific. The link between perceptions of safety and travel have always been obvious. What is also becoming clearer however, is the link – in some cases at least – between public policy and destination choice.

“The need for continued political harmony is ever more important if our sector of the global economy is to flourish equally across destinations.

“There will always be winners and losers in attracting the ever-changing travel consumer. Our hope is that destination choices will be left to the traveller, without too much in the way of external pressure being added to that decision-making process.

“In this way, the traveller benefits by increased competition across a level playing field, and that is to everyone’s advantage going forward.”