Among 10 key markets in Asia Pacific, Indonesia is leading the recovery in December 2022, recording 65% of pre-pandemic visitor arrivals.

Thailand and Japan also recorded a recovery of at least 50% of the monthly visitors of 2019. Macau and Hong Kong remained at the bottom of the ranking due to the lack of Chinese tourists.

Signs in January 2023 indicate a swift rebound as Chinese travellers start heading overseas again.

New Zealand

International tourism in New Zealand is registering a faster than expected rebound after reopening its border to international visitors. In November, New Zealand welcomed over 231,000 international travellers, approximately 60% of the monthly figure before the pandemic.

All this despite the absence of Chinese travellers, which was the second largest feeder market, Australia, the US and UK were the top markets.

In 2023, the government plans to strengthen the promotion of international tourism to target markets and maintain the marketing to the domestic audience with a wider scope. While international tourism was cut during the pandemic, domestic travellers became the focus.

In fact, the spending of domestic travellers accounted for 60% of the total before the pandemic.

Singapore

Singapore recorded over 6.3 million visitor arrivals in 2022, where Indonesia, India and Malaysia were the top three feeder markets. The recovery surpassed the earlier forecast by STB, bringing in estimated tourism receipts of SGD14 billion. The hotel performance also recovered to pre-pandemic levels, recording a monthly RevPAR of SGD 226 at 80% occupancy rate.

It is estimated that visitor arrivals to Singapore will double to over 12 million in 2023, and full recovery is expected in 2024 by STB. Tourism receipts are also estimated to climb to SGD 18-21 million.

Tourism recovery in 2023 will be supplemented by a SGD 110 million injection which is part of the $500 million set aside by the government to boost the industry.

STB will continue to strengthen the partnership with key players, including the MICE business, to boost the tourism recovery.

Thailand

In December 2022, Thailand welcomed more than 2.4 million foreign visitors, a 28% growth from the previous year or 57% of the monthly figure in 2019. Since its ‘full reopening’ in October, Thailand has seen a rapid growth in overseas visitors.

In 2022, Thailand received 11.15 million foreign visitors, which surpassed its annual target of 10 million. The key feeder markets of 2022 were Malaysia, India and Singapore, according to the tourism ministry.

The ministry announced the target of 25 million foreign visitors in 2023, aiming at at least 5 million from China, its largest feeder market in 2019.

While it falls short of the figure of 40 million recorded in 2019, Thailand is optimistic about its tourism recovery, particularly seeing the return of Chinese visitors. In the first three weeks of 2023, Thailand reportedly received 1.34 million foreign visitors.

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