Here’s a 60-second speed-read of Asia Travel Re:Set Issue #108 – 6 Takeaways from Q1 Tourism Reporting Season in Asia Pacific!, published on 23 April 2023.
Read Asia Travel Re:set Issue 108 in full HERE
This week, saw the Eid (or Hari Raya or Lebaran) holidays in South East Asia, celebrating the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramada. It also saw the start of China’s 5-day May Golden Week. Plus, countries across the region reported their visitor arrivals figures for the first quarter of 2023. Here are 6 key takeaways:
Japan welcomed 4.79 million visitors from January-March 2023, including 1.81 million visitors in March. Low flight capacity from China, meant it ranked as Japan’s #6 inbound visitor market in Q1, compared to #1 in the first quarter of 2019. Singapore and Vietnam were the two countries in the region to provide more visitors to Japan in Q1 2023 than in Q1 2019.
Thailand, which is South East Asia’s most-visited country, received 6.15 million arrivals in Q1. With a national election imminent on 14 May, the government again delayed implementation of its THB300 Tourism Tax, which was due to commence in June.
Singapore achieved 1 million monthly visitors in March for the first time since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. Overall, the city state received 2.91 million visitors in Q1, with an average length of stay of 3.97 days.
Tourism to Australia is picking up. The nation received 4.32 million arrivals in Q1 of 2023. In February, New Zealand, UK and US, were the top 3 inbound markets.
Maldives welcomed 523,928 visitors in Q1, up from 431,524 during the same period in 2022. The Indian Ocean archipelago nation appears well set to beat the 1.675 million full-year arrivals it achieved in 2022.
Meanwhile, Chinese media reported that 2.24 million passengers had ridden the China-Laos railway in the first 500 days since it opened in December 2021. Until recently, passengers were restricted to rail journeys within Laos. Cross-border train services between Kunming in China and the Lao capital Vientiane commenced on 13 April.
Read Asia Travel Re:set Issue 108 in full HERE