by Peter J. Bates

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

The State of Tourism in Asia

I have been privileged to visit Asia many times during the course of my career, and the destination continues to surprise and delight me. Having just completed a three-week tour of the region from Tokyo to Shanghai with many cities in between, I remain impressed by the vitality and ingenuity of the tourism and hospitality industry there.

While oversupply in some markets and staff retention seem to be key issues, it is quite apparent that tourism and hospitality are healthy and resilient in nearly every case.

Japan continues to face challenges from the earthquake and tsunami earlier this year, however the WTTC recently announced that business is beginning to return. Here is a link to the informative WTTC report: http://www.wttc.org/bin/pdf/original_pdf_file/japan_report_update_2_october_.pdf

During my stay in Tokyo, I learned that business travel is back and leisure travel enquiries are beginning to show some momentum. It appears the last few months have seen an improvement in occupancy at the top end of the market.