ADB predicts tourism in Asia-Pacific to rebound to pre-pandemic level by 2024

Tourism recovery in Asia and Pacific region has picked up speed and might rebound to the pre-pandemic level by 2024, according to a report released by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Tuesday (Feb. 7).

The international tourist arrivals in the Asia-Pacific region rose by 399 percent year-on-year for the first eight months of 2022, but only to 10.3 percent of the 2019 numbers, according to the Asian Economic Integration Report 2023.

"The variation is largely driven by differences in the pace of border reopening, public health protocols, and people's confidence in overseas travel," the report noted.

The report added that the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict also continued to represent a downside risk to Asian tourism, with a potential loss of about one-third of Russia's outbound tourists.

"Higher fuel prices translating to higher airfares and travel expenses, alongside weak global growth prospects, are dampening the recovery momentum," the report said.

For post-pandemic recovery, the report held the opinion that economies in the region needed to consider a range of policy options to increase sustainability and resilience while addressing pre-pandemic issues such as constrained source markets, a lack of infrastructure, and high informality.

"Greater regional cooperation is needed to deal with the prolonged challenges," the report continued.