International arrivals to the ten ASEAN member states are set to jump to 142 million in 2024 from just below 137 million in 2019, thanks to the region’s natural attractions and rich heritage, combined with improved tourist facilities, data and analytics company GlobalData said in a new report at the end of March.
Affordable connectivity to ASEAN, rising consumer class, and the region’s geographic proximity to China and India are also expected to drive an increase in international arrivals in 2024.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the ASEAN region boomed as a destination, with inbound arrivals to the 10 ASEAN member countries rising at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.7 percent between 2016 and 2019, GlobalData said.
Arrivals in 2020 and 2021 plummeted due to the pandemic and the strict entry requirements in ASEAN countries, but they are expected to rebound as the region reopens to fully vaccinated tourists.
“Plummeting traveller confidence, coupled with some of the world’s strictest entry requirements saw tourism numbers shrink to mere fractions of what they were in pre-pandemic times. GlobalData figures reveal that inbound flows to the ASEAN region declined by 78.8% YoY to 29 million in 2020,” Hannah Free, Travel and Tourism Analyst at GlobalData, commented.
“As the member countries go through phased re-openings and travel begins to resume worldwide, GlobalData forecasts the inbound flows to grow at a CAGR of 10.7% between 2022 and 2024, to reach 142 million international arrivals in 2024,” Free added.
“Increasing integration and cooperation between the 10 member states in tourism promotion and development spells for a brighter future for ASEAN economic recovery,” Free noted.