Asia Pacific tourism expected to rise

Tourism should bring the Asia Pacific region $110 billion in revenues over the next three years, with much of that coming from travelers in the region, according a report released Thursday.

China is expected to lead the way, gaining $36 billion in tourist dollars, according to the report from the Pacific Asia Travel Association or PATA.

American and Canadian tourists numbers to China are projected to rise by 13 percent, while tourists from India going to China are expected to jump 15 percent.

Other destinations expected to benefit include Thailand which should reap $13 billion, Malaysia with close to $11 billion and South Korea with $7 billion, the report found.

The survey is one of the latest signs that top destinations like Thailand may be turning a corner, after suffering a series of setbacks in recent years.

Thailand's tourism industry, generating about 6 percent of GDP, has suffered a series of losses from the 2004 tsunami, bird flu and SARS outbreaks and most recently the September coup that resulted in a flurry of hotel cancellations.

Last month, The Asia Travel Intentions Survey 2007 found that 9 percent more travelers were looking at Asia as their next travel destination.

"One of the fastest growing regions in the world, Asia Pacific stimulates some 60 percent of global tourism demand," John Koldowski, director of PATA's Strategic Intelligence Center, said in a statement. "PATA expects this momentum to continue in the medium-term with arrivals growth averaging around 6 percent per year to 2009."

Much of that growth will come from other Asia Pacific countries, with Chinese travelers helping boost the numbers in many top destinations, the report said.

Hong Kong traffic into Japan is expected to grow by 17 percent over the forecast period, Koldowski said, while Chinese tourists to Singapore are expected to rise by 16 percent.

The survey was done by PATA and the credit card company Visa International Asia Pacific.

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Pacific Asia Travel Association: http://www.pata.org