International
visitor arrivals into Asia and the Pacific grew by six per cent in June, the
latest month for which comprehensive pan-regional results are available.
South Asia reported a growth
performance of five per cent in June compared to last June. Across the
sub-region, the Maldives was the leading destination in terms of growth (up by 29
per cent) followed by Sri Lanka (up by 13 per cent) and then India (up by a
mere three per cent), the PATA said, adding that even though India’s growth
rate was well below the sub-region average, it must be remembered that because
of the vastly greater volume of international arrivals received annually, India
actually contributed around 37 per cent of the increased volume of additional
arrivals into the sub-region during the month.
The figures
for June are among the strongest year-on-year growth performances so far this
year. Southeast Asia set the pace once again with a solid double-digit gain,
but all sub-regions reported good percentage growth performances for the month.
Increasing numbers of mainland Chinese visitors played a major role in this
exceptional performance in many destinations across the region. However,
international arrivals into China continued to decline, the fourth monthly
contraction so far this year.
“It is encouraging to see
that all the tourism growth forecasts for the Asia Pacific region from not only
PATA but also from the UNWTO and the likes of the Boeing Company are saying
roughly the same thing in terms of strength and direction of growth,” chief executive
of PATA Martin J Craigs, said adding that they were seeing these forecasts come
into reality as global and regional economies continue to gain in strength. “In
the first six months of 2013, the Asia/Pacific region has seen an increase of
almost 7.7 million additional international arrivals on the back of a growth
rate for the period of 4.5 per cent year-on-year.
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