Record tourist arrivals tipped for Asia in 2004

Record tourist arrivals tipped for Asia in 2004

More than 300 million tourists are expected to visit the Asia Pacific this year, easily surpassing the record of 274.8 million set in 2002, the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) said on Tuesday.

The region's robust economies, ultra-cheap fares sparked by the emergence of low-cost carriers plus pent-up demand from 2003 are the major factors for the projected record-breaking year, the Bangkok-based trade body said.

"If we can get through December with no new external shocks to travel and tourism, I am confident that we will break 300 million this year," said John Koldowski, managing director at PATA's Strategic Intelligence Centre.

The regional tourism sector went through one of its darkest periods in 2003 when the SARS outbreak, Iraq war, global economic downturn and terrorism-related fears kept visitors away.

"With all the pent-up demand carried over from 2003, we were expecting a bounce-back year," Koldowski said in a statement.

"However, this is much more than a bounce back ... this is real growth, not artificial gains due to a comparatively poor 2003."

South Asia, Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia and the Pacific are all expected to see record arrivals this year, PATA said.

Visitor arrivals in some countries are up between 20 and 45 percent in the nine months to September, the trade body said.

In China, almost 80 million tourists visited the country in the January-September period, up 21 percent from a year ago, while the former Portuguese colony of Macau saw a gain of 45 percent to nearly 12.2 million arrivals. -- AFP