More tourists visit China, M'sia, Thailand

More tourists visit China, M'sia, Thailand

SINGAPORE: China, Malaysia and Thailand have been reeling in international tourists while Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines have seen their share slide, World Tourism Organization data showed on Wednesday.

China has grown the fastest with arrivals increasing at an average rate of 9 percent a year from 1995 to nearly 37 million in 2002, the latest year which figures were available, said the report published in The Business Times.

Its tourism receipts have more than doubled, from US$8.7 billion in 1995 to $20.4 billion in 2002.

Hong Kong's arrivals jumped to 16.6 million in 2002 from 10.2 million seven years earlier.

In Southeast Asia, only Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines saw their share of arrivals decline during the period.

Singapore's market share slid from 7.5 percent to 5.3 percent and its tourism receipts were hit as well, the organization's figures showed.

The release of the data followed the government's announcement on Monday that it will build two casino resorts worth about $3 billion combined to turn the staid city-state into a vibrant hub in Asia that is ahead of its regional competitors. -- DPA