Led by destinations in Southeast Asia, tourism in the region showed a strong recovery while Macau and Hong Kong showed the greatest month-on-month growth because of the increasing number of travellers from mainland China.

However, Korea is the only nation that recorded a recovery below 50% in spite of an 11% month-on-month growth.

(Note: April data from Indonesia, Malaysia and Taiwan were not available when the newsletter was prepared.)

Australia

Short-term overseas arrivals to Australia reached over 6.1 million in March, approximately 73% of the pre-pandemic figure. The largest feeder market, New Zealand, accounted for 15% of the total short-term visitors, followed by the UK (12%) and the USA (10%). In terms of territories of stay, New South Wales and Victoria are most popular among short-term overseas visitors.

The absence of Chinese tourists continues despite reopened borders. Insufficient flights between two countries, the shortage of Chinese-speaking tour guides, and higher travel costs are likely to delay the return of Chinese tourists. Additionally, government policy also impacts Chinese outbound travel, as Australia is not included in the list of 60 approved destinations for outbound group travel.

Laos

In the first four months of 2023, Laos welcomed more than 1.1 million visitors, according to data released by the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism. Earlier this year, the Ministry set an annual goal to attract at least 1.4 million foreign visitors, roughly 30% of the figure in 2019.

The data also revealed that Thailand (39%), Vietnam (22%), and China (20%) were the top three feeder markets, showing similar trends to the pre-pandemic era. Key tourism destinations, such as Luang Prabang, are seeing growing numbers of tourists from both domestic and international markets.

As one of the six priorities in Laos' socio-economic development plan, Laos’ government continued its various promotional events in key markets, particularly China. The China-Laos Railway connecting Kunming and Vientiane has greatly facilitated travel, further supported by an increased number of flights.

Myanmar

Myanmar’s tourism industry was booming before the pandemic, but the country now faces challenges to bringing back tourists due to the pandemic and the coup in 2021. In the past, foreign tourists flocked to Bagan’s ancient temples and pagodas and Inle Lake.

However, the tourism business is now reliant on domestic tourists. Hotels in tourist destinations also lower the room rate to attract domestic tourists.

The government is reported to have plans to bring back foreign tourists, especially from China - its largest feeder market before the pandemic. Due to high inflation and limited growth in Myanmar, the country is keen to attract foreign tourists.

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