Visitor Arrivals to Asia Pacific in July 2010

According to preliminary data from PATA, international visitor arrivals to Asia Pacific in July 2010 grew 15% year-on-year. For the first seven months of 2010, international visitor arrivals to the region grew by 12% year-on-year.

Arrivals to the Northeast Asia sub-region (excluding Mongolia) expanded by 15% for the month, slightly slower than the robust growth of 19% seen in May and June. Japan led the way for the sub-region, with arrivals growth of 39% for the month.

The revival of inbound tourism to Japan has been impressive, following a year-to-date expansion of 36% for the first seven months of the year. This robust growth has helped the destination to inch closer to the pre-recession level of 2008, and Japan could come very close to equalling the year-to-date peak in either August or September of this year.

Strong demand growth was also seen for Hong Kong SAR (+32%), Korea ROK (+24%), Chinese Taipei (+23%), and Macau SAR (+23%). China saw its overall arrivals, including traffic from Hong Kong and Macau , grow by 7% in July, with foreign arrivals growing much more strongly at 19%. Overall, international visitor arrivals to Northeast Asia recorded a growth of 12% for the first seven months of 2010.

Growth in international arrivals to Southeast Asia (excluding Laos and the Philippines) also remained strong at 15% in July, boosted by double-digit growth in arrivals to Vietnam (+51%), Singapore (+24%), Thailand (+14%) and Indonesia (+11%). Significantly for Thailand , this was the first month of positive growth in arrivals for three consecutive months and heralds a positive scenario as it heads into the traditionally ?high? season. The smaller destinations of Myanmar (+40%) and Cambodia (+22%) also recorded significant growth in July. For the first seven months of the year, arrivals to the Southeast Asia bloc increased by 13% year-on-year.

Arrivals to the destinations that make up South Asia (excluding Bhutan and Pakistan) grew by 11% for the month of July, comparatively slower than the average 15% growth seen in the first six months of the year but strong nevertheless. International arrivals to India grew only slowly at four per cent, however, arrivals to Sri Lanka , the Maldives and Nepal continued to record impressive growth rates of 50%, 29% and 26% respectively. During the January-to-July 2010 period, international visitor arrivals to the sub-region rose by 14%.

In the Pacific (excluding Fiji, Niue, Tahiti, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu), international arrivals continued to gain momentum after suffering through the ash cloud related slumps of April. Following a strong 10% expansion in June, arrivals to the sub-region posted double-digit growth of 10% in July. Australia , with 11% growth for the month, led the sub-region?s strong performance. While weak economic sentiment continues to negatively impact travel from Europe and the Americas to Australia , arrivals from Northeast Asia and Southeast Asia picked up strongly. Growth in arrivals to New Zealand was moderate at 4% while most of the smaller destinations showed positive growth in July. Overall, the sub-region recorded an average growth rate of 5% for the first seven months of the year.

Regions Include (unless noted otherwise)

Northeast Asia = China, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong SAR, Japan, Korea (ROK), Macau SAR and Mongolia
Southeast Asia = Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam
South Asia = Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka
The Pacific = Australia, Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niue, Northern Marianas, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tahiti, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu

Some areas are excluded from the statistics as no data was available at time of reporting.

See also: Singapore Visitor Arrivals in July 2010 and Hong Kong Visitor Arrivals in July 2010

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Cathay Pacific Reports September 2010 Traffic

Cathay Pacific's and Dragonair's combined traffic figures for September 2010 show rises in the number of passengers and amount of cargo and mail carried compared to the same month in 2009, coupled with increases in both passenger and cargo capacity.

The two airlines carried a total of 2,178,726 passengers in September 2010 ? up 18.4% on the same month last year. The passenger load factor was 81.8%, a rise of 1.6 percentage points, while capacity for the month, measured in available seat kilometres (ASKs), was up by 12.9%. For the year to date, the number of passengers carried is up 10.9% compared to an ASK rise of 3%.

Cathay Pacific General Manager Revenue Management Tom Owen said, "Our passenger traffic remained robust as we moved from the summer holiday season into what is traditionally the period when premium demand picks up. High load factors were seen across the system in September and demand in our Economy cabins held firm. Premium volumes and quality grew strongly against 2009 but still lagged 2008, although this gap will begin to close in the months ahead as the negative impact of the financial crisis on premium demand began to bite hard from late September 2008."

Cathay Pacific and Dragonair carried 146,152 tonnes of cargo and mail last month, up 9.6% on September last year. The cargo and mail load factor was 69.8%, a drop of 4.6 percentage points, while capacity, measured in available cargo/mail tonne kilometres, was up by 25.4%. For the year to date, tonnage has grown by 20.5% compared to a capacity increase of 12.7%.

Cathay Pacific General Manager Cargo Sales & Marketing James Woodrow said, "We increased our capacity in September in preparation for the upcoming cargo peak, with all our freighters back in operation and a number of frequencies added on key trunk routes. Demand was up compared to September 2009, but at the same time we saw a significant increase in competitor capacity to Europe and North America. This led to a decrease in our overall load factor to below 70%."

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Sofitel Luxury Hotels Expanding Portfolio in Asia Pacific

Sofitel Luxury Hotels has unveiled plans to expand its network across Asia Pacific, with the addition of eight new hotels. The hotels which will open in 2010-2011, include:

? Sofitel Dongguan Humen Oriental (China - August 2010)
? Sofitel Phnom Penh Phokeethra (Cambodia - December 2010)
? Sofitel Guangzhou Sunrich (China - Spring 2011)
? Sofitel Qingdao Garden (China - Spring 2011)
? Sofitel Mumbai BKC (India - Spring 2011)
? Sofitel Shanghai Jing?an (China - Spring 2011)
? Sofitel Bangkok Sukhumvit (Thailand - Fall 2011)
? Sofitel So Bangkok (Thailand - Fall 2011)

Commenting on the rapid expansion of Sofitel Luxury Hotels in South East Asia and India, Christophe Caron, Vice President of Sofitel Luxury Hotels South East Asia and India said, ?Sofitel Luxury Hotels has gained momentum and recognition in the region. With four new hotels between 2010-2011 in South East Asia and India, as well as two more under development in India in 2012 (namely Sofitel Mumbai Muland and Sofitel So Mumbai), Sofitel Luxury Hotels will further reinforce its strong positioning for both leisure and business travelers.?

Since the announcement three years ago of its move upscale, more than 80 hotels have left the Sofitel Luxury Hotels network from the original count of over 200 hotels. Together with the introduction of two sister brands, Sofitel Legend in 2009 and Sofitel So in 2010, Accor believes that Sofitel Luxury Hotels is now in a strong position to surpass expectations of those that are looking for the ultimate in luxury.

?The French origin is in our brand DNA,? explained Markland Blaiklock, Senior Vice President of Sofitel Luxury Hotels Asia Pacific. ?We enhance the experience with our know-how complimented by our French connections and the best of local culture. This is apparent in the importance we place on design, working with world renowned designers and integrating elements of the local culture.?

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