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According to ITB Berlin, Asia remains the powerhouse for world tourism growth in 2012 with strong growth of 7% in outbound travel as incomes rise and consumers are able to travel more. The outlook for 2013 is even stronger, experts said at the World Travel Monitor Forum in Pisa.

China and Japan are both performing very strongly this year with double-digit growth rates in outbound travel, Hiroshi Kurosu, senior researcher at the Japan Travel Bureau, told participants.

The number of international trips by Chinese grew about 20% in the first half of this year on top of already high increases in recent years. Japan has staged a remarkable recovery with 13.7% growth in the first nine months of the year, while outbound travel by South Koreans increased by 6.7% from January to August 2012.

Hong Kong and Taiwan also grew well over the first nine months. Overall, outbound tourism from North-East Asia can be expected to record double-digit growth this year, he predicted. In contrast, most markets in South-East Asia and South Asia are growing more slowly this year. India, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore had growth of less than 5% in the first half of the year, although Indonesia and the Philippines are estimated to have grown more than 10%.

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The outlook for Asian outbound tourism next year is overwhelmingly positive thanks to continued good prospects for the region’s economies, Kurosu explained. According to the IMF’s World Economic Outlook, released in October 2012, Asian GDP as a whole is likely to grow by 5.4% this year and by 5.9% in 2013. Chinese growth could improve to 8.2% next year from 7.8% this year, South Korea could see 3.7% growth, up from 2.7% this year and Japan should consolidate this year’s 2.2% growth with a further 1.2% increase. The IMF has also predicted healthy growth for India and South-East Asian countries.

Prospects for Asian tourism in 2013 are even stronger. Only one third (32%) of Asians say the financial crisis will impact their travel planning while two thirds (68%) say they will not be affected.Last year, slightly more Asians (36%) were impacted by the crisis. On a similar positive note, 29% of Asians plan to travel more in 2013, up from the 26% figure last year. Only 16% plan to travel less, compared to 21% last year, while 52% plan similar travel levels in 2013 (46% last year). Taking all these factors into account, IPK currently predicts a healthy 6% increase in Asian outbound travel in 2013.