Initial arrival figures for 2002 show mixed fortunes for Pacific Asia destinations

The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Strategic Information Centre has announced that initial arrival figures for 2002 show very mixed fortunes for Pacific Asia destinations.

Of the 31 destinations for which data is available, 14 show positive gains in international visitor arrivals into 2002. Some of those gains are also substantial. In the first quarter of the year arrivals into Lao PDR increased by almost 35 percent while foreign arrivals to China (PRC) for the first six months of the year grew by 16.3 percent. With the large volume of traffic into China (PRC), that growth equates to an additional 860,000 arrivals and pushes the half-year total to over 6.1 million.

The Pacific region is also seeing some strong gains with Fiji posting an increase of almost 20 percent for the first six months and Tonga improving its position by almost 14 percent. New Zealand, with a gain of almost five percent for the first half, came tantalisingly close to reaching the 1 million mark during the first six months of 2002 (996,700).

However, the global economic outlook for the second half of the year remains shaky, with crude oil prices on the rise again and J.P. Morgan Chase, for example, revising its growth forecasts down. Asia (excluding Japan) is comparatively less affected in these revised forecasts. “How this translates into travel activity is unclear,” said Mr. John Koldowski, Managing Director of the PATA Strategic Information Centre. “Nevertheless, we can still expect a tough period for the industry as a whole.”

The September-October edition of PATA Compass magazine will include a more detailed examination of tourism arrivals in 2002.