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.
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.
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