28 Jan 2015

Asia and Pacific register solid tourism growth

10:03 am on 28 January 2015

The World Tourism Organisation says the Asia-Pacific region was the second highest growth region in the world in 2014.

Behind the Americas, which had 7 per cent growth, the Asia-Pacific region registered 5 per cent growth overall, with Oceania registering 6 percent growth.

The Secretary-General of the UNWTO, Taleb Rifai, has opened the Spain Global Tourism Forum in Madrid and says over 1.1 billion tourists travelled abroad in 2014.

He forecasts international tourism to grow by 3 to 4 percent, further contributing to the global economic recovery.

International tourist arrivals in Asia and the Pacific increased by 13 million to 263 million.

Mr Rifai says traditional source markets have picked up again, with the total number of trips abroad from China increasing in 2014 by around 11 million to 109 million.