Asian tourism anticipating sharp decline in 2009

Airlines, hotels and tourism operators across Asia are expecting 2009 to be a challenging year as the deepening economic crisis sees long-haul travellers staying closer to home and regional travellers taking shorter, cheaper breaks.

“There’ll definitely be a drop in business, fewer tourists is a reality,” noted Laurence Lai, who owns two photo galleries popular with tourists visiting Hong Kong.

“I expect a 30 percent fall at least. I’m having to shift my strategies to confront this financial tsunami, but you just have to stand firm and face the winds,” he added. Lai said that tourist sales account for half of his income.

The numerous and diverse cultures represented in Asia, along with its shopping bargains, historical attractions, range of landscapes and exoticism, have made it a rapidly-growing tourist destination in recent years. The two fastest-growing tourism regions in the last several years have been Asia and the Middle East.

With the economic downturn intensifying last year, travel markets from India to Thailand and Hong Kong have contracted sharply. At times the situation had been made worse by political turmoil and terrorist activity.

Many experts are projecting negative growth for the region’s tourism industry in 2009.

Thanks to www.reuters.com for the above quotes, for more information on this article please visit their website.

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