Chinese travel wave continues to drive Asia Pacific tourism says new PATA report

ASIA PACIFIC. The crucial role of Chinese travellers to Asia Pacific tourism is reinforced in Pacific Asia Tourism Association’s (PATA) third-quarter tourism monitor, released today.

In Northeast Asia, South Korea reported +68.3% growth in arrivals year-on-year during the quarter, driven by an +85.1% increase in visitors from China. However, the comparison is distorted by the drastic impact of the MERS health crisis in 2015. Japan took second place in the sub-region with +17.1% growth for the same period. Arrivals from China to Japan rose +16.3%.

Vietnam posted arrivals growth of +35.7%, making it the strongest in the region of Southeast Asia.

India and Sri Lanka took the top two spots in South Asia with year-on-year increases of +14.2% and +12.0% respectively.

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Northern Marianas delivered the Pacific region’s star turn with a +27.1% hike in third-quarter arrivals. Australia followed with an increase of +12.6%.

PATA said: “China continues to be a strong and highly influential source market for destinations across the Asia Pacific region.” The association cited Thailand, which enjoyed year-on-year arrivals growth of +14.5% from China during the quarter.

However, Hong Kong SAR and Macao saw slight decreases in the same period.

To buy the full report e-mail publications@PATA.org or visit www.PATA.org/store.

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