Intra-regional tourism within Asia is on the rise and constitutes a good portion of the total visitors to the region. The UNWTO has prepared a series of market studies of the Asia-Pacific countries which are considered significant as outbound markets for the region. They are: Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Republic of Korea and Thailand. This dispatch contains summaries of the studies for Australia, China and Hong Kong. 

Designed to facilitate a better understanding the Asian/Pacific source markets, the studies contain a general profile of the markets as an outbound source for tourism, including such features as their socio-economic environment in terms of population, wealth, per capita income and propensity for travel, and their relevant impact on traffic to Asia. The studies also pay particular attention to details of market intelligence on the existing traffic and future trends. Finally, they provide guidelines and recommendations, based on the above issues, for the Asian destinations.
According to UNWTO Secretary General Francesco Frangialli, “The Asia-Pacific region by the very nature of its surface area, population, cultural diversity, and economic activity is a vast storehouse of tourism. For too long the region has been associated with inbound tourism but a closer analysis shows that the outbound potential and growth rates are far superior to that of the other economic blocs of the world whether it be Europe or the Americas.”
The UNWTO 2020 market survey predicts that China will be the leading inbound destination in the world in 2020 with 130 million tourists and the fourth largest outbound destination with 100 millions tourists. Recent trends in the outbound figures of China indicate that this figure will be surpassed earlier than estimated. Another UNWTO survey has placed China and India amongst the fastest growing outbound destinations with growth around 10% per year.
A very interesting feature of the Asia-Pacific outbound statistics reveals that 78% of outbound Asian traffic is to the region itself. Intra-regional traffic therefore plays a very important role in the economic and tourist landscape which is gradually but firmly changing the world tourism scenario.
The UNWTO hopes to continue the present series on outbound market studies as more information, data, and research emerge of these outbound markets on the one hand and the efforts made by the inbound destinations to improve their infrastructure and products to receive their “neighbours” on the other. 

AUSTRALIA
Australia has an estimated population of 20,264,082. Although the country’s economy has traditionally relied on primary production, in the 21st century service industries such as tourism have played a much greater role in the economy.
Forecasted figures show that 4,802,000 Australians travelled overseas in 2005. Australian outbound tourism has grown strongly after several years of lower demand, attributable to the uncertainties in the global environment. The most popular outbound destinations for Australians are New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The main purpose of trip for the majority of outbound travellers is holiday, with the most demand for outbound travel occurring in the months of September and December. The median length of stay in outbound destinations is 16 days, although holiday travellers have an average stay of 30 days.
Asia was visited by 35% of all Australian outbound travellers. Seven of the ten most popular outbound destinations for Australian travellers are in the Asia-Pacific region and include: Indonesia, Fiji, Thailand, Hong Kong, Malaysia, China and Vietnam. The North-East Asia region (China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea and Taiwan) receives the greatest proportion of Australian outbound travellers (1,467,600). However, for a single country Indonesia receives the vast majority of visitors, predominated by traffic to Bali with a forecast of 357,000 Australian travellers in 2005. The main purpose of visit to the Asia-Pacific region is holiday.
The growth in outbound tourism from Australia can be attributed to a number of factors including Australia’s current soclo-economic environment. Greater affluence, increased leisure time, a high percentage of women participating in the workforce, greater life expectancy and changes in family structures, have seen Australians increasingly engage in travel. In 2003 Australia had an unemployment rate of 6.0% and increasing rates of disposable income.
In 2002 more than 70% of all households were buying or purchasing their home and over half reported having no consumer debt. The continued strength of the Australian dollar is increasing the competitiveness of overseas destinations and Australians are taking a larger share of their holiday nights in overseas destinations and spending more on holidays abroad.
Forecasts suggest that the number of Australian outbound travellers will increase strongly, largely due to the strength of the Australian economy, competitive travel prices and Australians’ interest in experiencing different cultures and lifestyles. This is predicted to occur despite current uncertainties in the global environment. Research on international travel intentions shows that 19% of Australians planned to travel overseas for at least one night on their next trip. Following the September 11 attacks on the United States around 1.4 million (9% of the population) had changed their plans for their next holiday trip or non-business trip.
Following the Bali bombing attacks in 2002 there was a 57% fall in travel intention to Bali in the six months after the event. However in spite of the two attacks in Bali (2002 and 2005) and Australian government warnings to avoid travel to Bali, the tourist island of Indonesia is still one of the top outbound destinations for Australian travellers. Following the SARS outbreak there was a 7% downturn in travel to the affected regions. Since the passing of the crisis outbound travel figures to these destinations have returned to the pre-SARS numbers. It has been suggested that after the initial impacts of September I1 and other crises, Australians have become more resilient to travel threats.
To assist the Asia-Pacific destinations in targeting appropriate segments of the population, the characteristics below of Australian outbound travellers have to be taken into account: they have a degree or diploma, they belong to the higher socto-economic groups, they are employed within the professional/manager category, they earn A$50,000 or more per annum, they do not have children less than 16 years of age in the household, and they are frequent users of computers (66% at home and 54% at work or school).
Further, the most popular activities for Australians while travelling overseas are: shopping, visiting friends and relatives, rest and relaxation, visiting cities, visiting restaurants, and visiting historical places.
Product development and product enhancement are key issues for the Asia-Pacific destinations to look into in order to increase the number of Australian travellers into their country. One could maintain its target market offerings, as Australian travellers have a high interest in experiencing different cultures and lifestyles and the Asian destinations are often seen as ‘exotic’ by western visitors. In terms of new products, such as health and well-being tourism, given that Australia is an ageing society, it is expected that substantial amounts of discretionary income will increasingly be spent on health products for prevention and cure, with the expectation that such activities will be undertaken in the context of quality and personal comfort.
Competitive pricing structures should also be considered. The main competitive advantage that the Asia-Pacific destinations have is their relative close proximity to Australia, and the resulting cost of travel as compared to long-haul destinations. Further, given the strength of the Australian dollar, the in-country expenses of many of these destinations are very affordable. Flexibility is increasingly dictating the choice of leisure activities with a move to more personal activities as opposed to group controlled and scheduled leisure travel.
Therefore flexible travel arrangements and packages should be taken into account. Finally, in the current global climate there is a need to ensure chat security is given adequate attention to reassure travellers of their safety particularly in terms of accommodation establishments, tour operations and internal transportation.
For the majority of the Asian destinations, the marketing strategies are performing quite well as evidenced by the popularity of these destinations with Australian travellers. Nevertheless, marketing strategies should be adopted to reassure travellers about the security of the country. It is recommended that destinations attempt to reinforce positive messages through the media and perhaps utilise testimonials as a means of encouraging travel in a climate of uncertainty regarding safety and security. Given the growing preference for short-haul destinations there are good opportunities for the Asian destinations to capitalise on neighbourhood’ travel from Australia.
Reinforcing through marketing campaigns the accessibility, flying times, etc., to the Asian destinations is likely to stimulate demand. Long-term trends indicate that Internet booking for overseas travel of three nights or more is increasing, while travel agent bookings are gradually decreasing, therefore, multi-layered distribution channels need to be looked into. In addition, communication by NTO networks needs to be improved in order to access current information and “English friendly” publications for the travel wholesalers and operators.
Appropriate marketing strategies need to be developed, given that the majority of outbound travellers are well educated, employed in professional positions and belong to middle-income brackets. Further the majority of outbound travellers do not have children, and product marketing should reflect this situation. Marketing and advertising campaigns which focus on culture while also highlighting the diversity of product offerings that appeal to the Australian outbound traveller are also recommended as a study found that 81% of outbound Australians agreed with the statement “I’d like to holiday where I can experience the local culture”.

     (Source: Travel Impact Newswire)