Asia-Pacific travel up 1.3%

SINGAPORE: Passenger traffic in the Asia Pacific region rose 1.3 percent in January from the previous year to more than 10 million, an industry group said on Friday.

The small percentage rise was due to a higher base of comparison as the Lunar New Year holidays last year fell in January, compared with February this year, the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) said in a statement.

"The small measure of positive passenger traffic growth in January did not quite match the growth in capacity but does reaffirm the underlying strength of travel demand," said AAPA director-general Andrew Herdman.

"Any post-tsunami effects appear to have been limited to specific areas within the region." -- AFP