The latest figures released by Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) show that the number of international visitor arrivals to Asia Pacific fell by an estimated six per cent in the first six months of 2009 compared to first half of 2008. All five sub-regions of Asia Pacific posted decline in visitor numbers for the first half this year, with South Asia recording the largest fall at 8.1 per cent. In the Americas, visitor volumes fell by 7.7 per cent while Southeast Asia reported a 5.7 per cent decline in arrivals. This latter figure is influenced largely by double-digit reductions in the markets of Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. The largest sub-region in Asia Pacific, North East Asia, registered the smallest rate of decline at 5.2 per cent, but lost more than five million international arrivals in volume terms.
Visitor arrivals to China PRC, Hong Kong SAR, Macau SAR and Japan were down but Chinese Taipei and Korea ROK bucked the trend with double-digit growth at ten per cent and 15 per cent respectively. The Pacific recorded a year-to-date visitor number decline of 6.6 per cent, |