Australian tourists show inclination towards Asian destinations
By Satish Gupta l eTN Asia/Pacific
Thailand and Vietnam are the two "hot travel spots" for Australians as both the destinations witnessed an increment of 21 percent in terms of tourism from the Down Under. The growth percentage was more than any destination as far as outbound tourism from Australia is concerned.
More than 28,000 Australians visited Thailand and 11,000 went to Vietnam, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics figures.
As per the information available, New Zealand, with an 8.3 percent increase in Australian visitors, remained the most visited.
Australian Federation of Travel Agents chief executive Mike Hatton reportedly said competitive airline ticket prices was a factor in Asia's popularity. "Deals in those markets are excepti
Earlier, the Tourism Forecasting Committee (TFC) had stated that the forecast for short-term resident departures is to increase by over four percent to around five million in 2006, following growth of nine percent in 2005 and 29 percent in 2004. Looking further out, outbound tourism is forecast to grow at a stronger rate than domestic tourism, given the increasing propensity of residents to travel overseas and the expansion of low cost air capacity to outbound markets.
As a result, outbound departures are forecast to grow at an average annual rate of nearly four percent between 2005 and 2015 to reach seven million.
On the other hand, the forecast for inbound tourism for 2007 is more positive, given an assumed weakening of both the Australian dollar and world crude oil prices, along with a modest expansion in aviation capacity. The continued expansion of LCC routes in Asia and the associated rapid development of rival destinations in Asia, will continue to exert competitive pressure on international arrivals to Australia. In 2007 inbound arrivals are forecast to grow at a moderate pace increasing by over four percent to reach 5.7 million.
February 12, 2007
Posted in: Australia