Asia Pacific international tourism undergoing slow recovery

Asia Pacific international travel and tourism remains in the doldrums.

While the region had initial been expected to be one of the fastest to recover during 2021, the combination of disparate national responses to COVID-19, long border closures and other restrictions, and the imposition of burdensome travel requirements, have meant that international tourism in the Asia Pacific has remained at a near standstill.

The region's three largest outbound travel markets - China, Japan and South Korea - have been among the slowest major markets to recover.

At the same time, some key inbound tourism markets continue to suffer from reduced travel from their historical source markets in Europe, North America and Oceania.

Thanks to heightened concerns around health risks and travel disruptions, travellers in these markets are opting for travel closer to home.