ebtravelnews.com
For the period 2015 to 2019, preliminary estimates indicate that the rate of growth will average between five and six per cent per annum to generate an aggregate inbound count of more than 670 million by the end of 2019.
PATA chief executive officer Mario Hardy, said that 38 destinations in the period 2015 to 2019 will see more than 158 million additional international visitor arrivals.
“Asia as a destination region will grow faster at between six and seven per cent over that period and receive in excess of half a billion foreign visitors by the end of the forecast period,” Mr Hardy said.
Asia will not only benefit from this increased travel volume, but also will be a major generator of that demand both within Asia and well beyond.
“These forecasts provide a valuable quantification of the expected future trends of travel demand for the Asia Pacific and allow for risk assessments to be made well ahead of the curve.
“With past forecasts coming to within two per cent of actual performance at the Asia Pacific level, we believe that they provide a valid and accurate tool for today’s industry,” Mr Hardy said.
The PATA Asia Pacific Visitor Forecasts 2015–2019 are a joint production of the Tourism Forecasting Unit within the School of Hotel and Tourism Management (SHTM) at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) and PATA.