In the report “Tourism Destination Market Insight – ASEAN (2021)”, the leading data and analytics company GlobalData said that intra-regional travel within ASEAN will play a crucial role in revitalizing the tourism economies of the member countries.
GlobalData data and analytics company has just released its report called “Tourism Destination Market Insight – ASEAN (2021)”, in which shows intra-regional tourism among ASEAN countries recorded a total of 44.3 million travelers in 2019 and is expected to have a compound growth rate (CAGR) of 5% from 2019 to 2024 before reaching 56.6 million by 2024.
Last year, Covid-19 caused intra-ASEAN tourist arrivals to decrease by 36.9% year-over-year to only 27.9 million, but GlobalData said intra-regional travel could be key to the region’s recovery from the impact of COVID-19 thanks to an abundance of low-cost connectivity and an increased tendency to travel to destinations closer to home.
Gus Gardner, Travel and Tourism Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “In 2019, intra-regional travel accounted for a total of 32.3% of all travelers showing the importance of regional links. With depleted budgets and COVID-19 fatigue setting in, travelers will be keen to travel and are more likely to select destinations closer to home. With the provision of relaxed visa policies between the member states, the barriers to travel are low and will help increase the intra-regional flows post-COVID-19.”
Furthermore, the ratification of the ASEAN single aviation market agreement has also increased the level of competitiveness and accessibility of intra-regional flights. Low-cost airlines with low fares and high route frequencies have contributed to creating a vast network of connections throughout the region, further facilitating tourists to travel within ASEAN affordably. Given the growing personal financial concerns associated with COVID-19, flight availability and affordability will play a vital role in stimulating tourism flows in the near future.
“Even after accounting for the impact of COVID-19, intra-regional travel is forecast to achieve a healthy growth rate. Given the cultural similarities and strict measures to tackle the virus, destinations within the region are likely to increase in popularity. This type of travel will provide the much-needed revenues for travel firms and could play an important role in revitalizing the tourism economy before the travelers begin traveling further abroad again,” concluded Gus Gardner.
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