【By Observer.com, Deng Jun; Editor: Zhao Qiankun】

Despite global challenges such as economic uncertainty, currency fluctuations, and rising negative sentiments among some residents toward mass tourism, the Asia-Pacific tourism market has shown strong resilience and continued to maintain its appeal as an important tourist destination.

According to reports from U.S. travel industry media Travel Industry Wire and Singaporean travel and business media Travel Trade Gazette Asia, the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) recently updated the "2025-2027 Asia-Pacific Tourist Forecast" report. The report shows that international tourist numbers in the Asia-Pacific region will reach 801 million in 2027, significantly higher than 692 million in 2025. While China continues to lead the outbound tourism market, India, the UK, and Russia are also emerging as increasingly important sources of tourists in the Asia-Pacific region.

Travel Trade Gazette Asia reported that the "2025-2027 Asia-Pacific Tourist Forecast" was first released in March this year, aiming to interpret the recovery and growth trends of the Asia-Pacific tourism industry in a complex global environment. The report points out that ongoing economic volatility, significant exchange rate fluctuations, and concerns about over-tourism among residents of certain destinations pose serious challenges to the Asia-Pacific tourism industry. However, the regional market has shown great potential and resilience. This update provides detailed insights based on data on market recovery and growth prospects, which is crucial for industry stakeholders to respond to changes in the global landscape.

The report shows that in terms of inbound tourism, China remains the largest inbound tourism market, expected to receive 148 million foreign tourists in 2027, followed by the United States and Turkey. Among them, Turkey and Mongolia show particularly strong recovery in inbound tourism, surpassing levels before 2019.

In terms of outbound tourism, the structure of tourist source markets in the Asia-Pacific region is undergoing change. China continues to dominate the market, while traditional tourist source countries such as the United States and South Korea maintain steady growth. At the same time, emerging tourist markets such as India, the UK, and Russia have seen rapid growth in tourist numbers, with their importance significantly increasing, reflecting the trend of diversification of tourism demand in the Asia-Pacific region.

Additionally, two key trends highlighted in the report deserve attention: first, the rise of health tourism. With the aging population in many source countries and the growing demand for health and wellness, health tourism has become an important development direction, providing opportunities for Asia-Pacific destinations to develop more inclusive and health-oriented tourism products. Second, changing preferences among young travelers: younger generations of travelers are heavily influenced by social media (especially user-generated content), and tend to choose travel programs that are authentic, experiential, and easy to share.

Travel Industry Wire cited the views of PATA CEO Nur Ahmed Hamid, who stated that over the past six months, multiple factors have directly impacted the industry's development. The value of this report lies in its timeliness and data support. Tourism professionals can use it to more accurately predict market changes, make early deployments to avoid risks, and seize opportunities brought by emerging trends such as health tourism, digital marketing, and changes in tourist source structures.

Other data also confirm the future development potential of the Asia-Pacific tourism market.

Recently, the Mastercard Economic Research Institute released the "2025 Tourism Industry Trends: Purpose-Driven Journeys" report, which shows that eight of the top 15 popular summer destinations globally are in the Asia-Pacific region. David Mann, Chief Economist of Mastercard Asia, said that the Asia-Pacific will continue to lead global tourism trends. Tourists are becoming more mature, considering factors such as exchange rates and transportation convenience when choosing destinations, and pursuing meaningful and cost-effective experiences. Their travel preferences have clearly shifted towards more personalized and purpose-driven journeys.

The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) also predicts that although multiple factors may affect consumer behavior, people's willingness and ability to travel have not weakened. The passion for exploration and goal-driven travel motivation will be the core driving force for the continuous growth of the global tourism industry over the next decade. WTTC estimates that by 2035, the contribution of China's tourism industry to the economy will exceed 2.7 trillion yuan. Tourism will create and support over 100 million jobs in China, adding nearly 20 million new positions within the next decade. Domestic tourist spending is expected to reach nearly 1.4 trillion yuan, and international tourist spending is expected to increase to 1.5 trillion yuan.

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