Asia Pacific tourism all set to record growth of 6 per cent in 2011: PATA

Preliminary results released recently by the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) show a collective increase of six per cent year-on-year for international arrivals into Asia Pacific destinations during each of the months of October and November 2011. For the first 11 months of the year, South Asia was the star growth performer, followed by Southeast Asia, Northeast Asia and the Pacific, all of which saw tourism demand improve, albeit at different rates of growth. This momentum is expected to continue for the rest of the year and paves the way for an expected full-year arrivals gain of five to six per cent in 2011, above the global growth figure of four per cent. The overall international visitor arrivals count to the wider Asia Pacific region - which includes North America - is expected to reach around 430 million for 2011.