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HomeAsia-PacificNew TIA report shows Asia-Pacific outbound travel will recover quickly from the SARS epidemic; U.S. should benefit

New TIA report shows Asia-Pacific outbound travel will recover quickly from the SARS epidemic; U.S. should benefit

The Travel Industry Association of America (TIA) has released the Asia-Pacific Travel Demand: Trends and Insights,…

The Travel Industry Association of America (TIA) has released the Asia-Pacific Travel Demand: Trends and Insights, 2003 Edition report, the first in a series of in-depth reports that profile the outbound travel markets from three world regions. The report examines outbound travel and travel to the U.S. from the Asia-Pacific region and the top seven Asia-Pacific markets for travel to the U.S. TIA also examines the cultural, social, economic and political conditions that affect travel from these markets.

The report found that outbound travel from the 30 countries making up the Asia-Pacific region to international destinations worldwide has nearly tripled in the past decade. World events and the SARS epidemic have affected outbound Asian-Pacific travel, as outbound travel is expected to fall from 98 million in 2002 to 71 million this year.

With its economy poised to experience explosive growth in the next ten years, the Asia-Pacific region is a lucrative market for the U.S., remarked William S. Norman, president and CEO of the Travel Industry Association of America. While a variety of factors have recently affected inbound travel from the Asia-Pacific region to the U.S., most notably SARS and the slow world economy, the region is expected to recover somewhat quickly.

The majority (78%) of outbound travel from the Asia-Pacific region is short-haul. Of the 22 percent that is long-haul, nearly 6 million visitors traveled to the U.S. in 2002. This gives the U.S. a 28 percent market share of long-haul travel from the Asia-Pacific region, a low for the decade. While 2003 is expected to be another lackluster year, Asian-Pacific arrivals to the U.S. are expected to begin recovering in 2004 and see strong growth in 2005 and 2006.

In the report, TIA also provides in-depth analysis of seven top travel markets: Japan, Republic of Korea, Australia, Taiwan, India, China and Hong Kong.

Japan is the strongest market from the Asia Pacific region, despite its recent economic woes. Japanese consumers are sophisticated travelers who travel for leisure, arrive with family members, and spend more than eight billion dollars in the U.S. Taiwan and South Korea send fewer travelers to the U.S., but the U.S. enjoys the highest long-haul market share from each of these markets (51% and 49%, respectively). South Korea is the only one among the top travel markets from which U.S. market share grew in 2002. U.S market share is expected to keep growing at a faster rate than the rest of the region for the foreseeable future.

China and India still send relatively few travelers to the U.S. and most visit the U.S. for business purposes. Yet, these markets show the greatest potential for future growth. Both China and India have a burgeoning middle class, and long-haul travel is becoming more accessible and affordable to these markets. In addition, travelers to the U.S. from China spend more per party per trip ($4,000+) than any other market.

Australia sent just over 400,000 travelers to the U.S. in 2002. Yet, this market is one of the most resilient and is expected to grow at a steady pace for several years to come. While Hong Kong is one of the smaller markets to the U.S., these travelers are the most affluent among the Asia-Pacific markets.

Similar reports on Europe and The Americas are due out later this year.

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Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.

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