Tourist arrivals in Asia-Pacific expected to fully recover by 2026: Oxford Economics

“Globally, we’re registering a very significant recovery from the depths of Covid but in Asia-Pacific still, it’s behind that curve,” James Lambert, director of economic consulting for Oxford Economics Asia, said during an industry round-table discussion on Monday.

“The global inflationary environment is a risk in terms of how much people are willing to spend,” he added, according to Bloomberg.

Lambert added that Asia-Pacific economies are still too dependent on Chinese tourists as a source of tourism while the world’s largest outbound tourism market continues to grapple with limited flights and visa processing backlogs.

Rajit Sukumaran, managing director of Southeast Asia and Korea for IHG Hotels & Resorts, said places like Bali and parts of Vietnam are poised to see greater numbers soon.

China allowed its citizens to return to Vietnam via group tours starting Wednesday after three years of Covid travel restrictions.

Despite being one of the first Southeast Asian countries to fully reopen to international tourism post Covid, Vietnam only received 3.6 million foreign tourists last year, around 20% of pre-pandemic levels.

This year, Vietnam eyes 8 million foreign arrivals, nearly half of the pre-pandemic figure.