Singapore remains the leader in terms of recovery of monthly visitor arrivals, followed by Indonesia and Thailand.

Due to the differences in timelines of reopening, some countries and regions still recorded a high month-on-month change in November 2022, while some showed fairly stable figures.

The table below outlines monthly visitor arrivals across key markets in Asia Pacific.

COVID news that matter

Mainland China

Starting from 8 January, China will lift most of the travel restrictions and mandatory quarantine is to be waived for all inbound travellers to mainland China.

The new measurement indicates the resumption of normal inbound and outbound travel, while it is concerned that the number of cases will surge after the relaxation of rules.

The authorities expect to resume flights back to 90% of pre-pandemic levels by the end of January. Given the challenges to ramp up airlift capacity at short notice, it remains to be seen how much capacity constraints will limit outbound tourism growth in the short-to-medium term.

Many countries and regions are preparing for the return of Chinese tourists, while some of them announced additional requirements for visitors from China. Thailand, which welcomed 11 million Chinese travellers in 2019, is excited to receive visitors from China again.

The authorities expect to see an increase in inbound tourists during Lunar New Year (22 Jan 2023), with a maximum of up to half a million from China. On the other hand, some popular destinations, such as Japan, Korea and the U.S., announced mandatory PCR tests for travellers from China, including Hong Kong SAR and Macau SAR, starting from early January.

Myanmar

Myanmar has resumed international flights and normal travel in April 2022, and the number of visitor arrivals reached over 215,000 in 2022. In 2019, the contribution of travel and tourism to GDP was 6.7%, and the nation welcomed approximately 4.4 million international visitors in 2019. Observers estimated that it would take 3-5 years to return to ‘near-normal’ travel in Myanmar.

Despite the impact of the pandemic and coup, the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism has launched the Strategic Recovery Roadmap to help the industries revive.

In the short term, the authorities plan to get the nation prepared for the new normal and build the image as a safe destination. In the medium to long term, Myanmar is expected to have greater product diversification and focus on sustainable tourism.

Taiwan

Since reopening its borders in October 2022, inbound and outbound travel in Taiwan is resuming gradually. In November, a total of 173,137 inbound visitors to Taiwan were recorded, among which over 75% was from Asia.

The open borders also stimulate outbound travel of Taiwanese; there are approximately 276,500 outbound trips in November, and popular destinations are in Asia, such as Japan and Vietnam, and Thailand.

In 2023, the authorities are targeting a total of 6 million inbound travellers, approximately 50% of the pre-pandemic figure. In 2019, the key feeder markets are mainland China, Japan, Hong Kong SAR and Macau SAR.

Due to the tension with mainland China, the focus has switched to other markets in Southeast Asia under “The New Southbound Policy.” To boost the inbound travel in Taiwan, the authorities launch several promotions and campaign to hit the annual target.

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