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Australia Took Top Holiday Spot despite Economic Slowdown
SINGAPORE, Feb 11 (Reuters Life!) – Australia took the top holiday destination despite of global economic crisis based from the global survey conducted by travelers.
Asia Pacific was named the number-one region for those intending to travel overseas this year and next in the survey, commissioned by credit card firm Visa and the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) and which polled over 5,500 people.
Nearly half picked Australia, which is expecting the number of foreign visitors to fall to their lowest level in two decades this year, as a place to visit, a likely boost for a multi-million dollar tourist campaign launched late last year.
Japan reigned as the second most likely holiday destination, followed by Hong Kong, which got 35 percent of votes.
“That Asia Pacific was named the leading global leisure travel region reinforces the vital role this industry fills in the regional economy,” said Meranda Chan, a Visa country manager and PATA board director.
“While the global economic situation will impact tourism, it is unlikely to bring travel to a standstill. What our survey has shown is that travelers will be more creative in their selection of destinations,” she said in a statement.
There were 11 key markets for Asia Pacific tourism — Australia, China, Taiwan, France, Hong Kong, India, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the United States and Britain included on the survey which took last August. This survey appears to bode well for an industry that has been hit by the global economic crisis.
Full News at LifeStyle Section, Reuters
