According to a recent press release, the Pacific Asian Travel Association (PATA) expects "strong annual growth" in international visitor arrivals "through APAC" this year. Arrivals should "be above pre-pandemic 2019 levels for the first time in 2024," a "minor" positive scenario of just under 741 million.

The number of international visitors to APAC in 2019 was 682.7 million, according to data published by the association.

However, PATA said "challenges persist" for the tourism industry. If the association's "serious scenario" materializes, arrivals in 2024 will be 471.5 million, 31% below 2019 levels.

The announcement quoted PATA chief executive Noor Ahmad Hamid as saying: "Severe scenario predictions remind us that while the current situation is positive, growth prospects are generally optimistic, the risks still exist."

He added: "Geopolitical tensions, the impact of climate change and economic uncertainty have proven to be sources of obstacles to Asia-Pacific tourism growth, underscoring the critical need for continued efforts to create innovative solutions that can effectively meet these challenges."

International visitor arrivals in Asia, the Americas and the Pacific this year were all forecast to exceed 2019 levels in line with the agency's "mild scenario" forecast, although the association noted that there is an "unequal recovery rate" between regions and sub-regions within the Asia-Pacific.

"This momentum is expected to continue into 2025 and 2026, with international visitor arrivals in all three destination regions expected to outperform 2019," PATA added.

The association's "serious scenario" forecast is much lower than its mid- and mid-term forecasts. Arrival figures are predicted to continue to rise to 2019 levels by the end of 2026, but they rise at a very slow rate in "serious scenario" forecasts.

According to PATA's "Middle Scenario" forecast, the destination subregions in Northeast Asia and Southeast Asia are leading the way in terms of projected absolute annual growth in international visitors, with "profits of 44.6 million and 36.2 million, respectively."

Much of the expansion between 2023 and 2024 is referred to as the "Northeast Asia Source Market," according to the association.

PATA expected China, Macau and South Korea to "add 35.9 million, 8.5 million and 7.6 million foreign visitors to the Asia-Pacific countries, respectively."

Macau received nearly 14.2 million visitors in the first five months of 2024, up 50.2% from the previous year. The figure accounted for about 82.4% of the less than 17.2 million who arrived in the first five months of 2019.

BY: 동행복권파워볼