News from East Asia of a welcome comeback for Bali, Phuket and Philippines, the latter helped by a big surge in tourists from the Russian Far East
Talking to friends who've returned from travelling in East Asia, it is heartening to learn that despite the fears of terrorism, threats of strikes and increased security, tourism continues to flourish in the countries that need it most.
It is greatly cheering to read that Bali looks to be on the road to recovery, after a disastrous spell due to terrorist activity. I hear of increased Australian and UK visitors, plus a large contingent of Scandinavians, but as yet no Americans seems to want to visit. They were never big in Bali anyway, but the security threat seems to have deterred even determined travellers from the USA.
Following the bombing in 2002, visitor arrivals in Bali dropped by 47% and declined again after the second bombing in 2005, leaving the Island reeling from the shock of losing their tourists and cleaning up after the disaster.
The return to Bali will also benefit Indonesia generally. The country has suffered successive tragedies from the tsunami of 2004 to more recent floodings and mudslides. As Bali accounts for approximately 37% of all visitors to Indonesia, a return to normality is to be welcomed.
Also affected by the tsunami was Phuket, but spending has returned to near normal and new hotels continue to be built and planned for. In the month immediately following the tsunami (January 2005), Phuket saw an 89% drop in tourist arrivals but the coming high season looks like being one of their busiest ever and room rates are expected to increase once again.
The burgeoning Russian economy has created a population eager to travel to far off places, the more exotic the better. The latest place they are colonizing is The Philippines, proving that The Philippine's marketing stragegy has paid off. The Department of Tourism has recently been active in the Russian Far Eastern region where they found interest exceeded expectations. Russians are highly enthusiastic and adventurous people and 2008 promises to be a bumper year for travel to The Philippines for them, even more so than 2007 which saw an increase of 41% in visitors. This is not surprising as The Philippines is the closest tropical destination for the Russian Far East.
i shall be packing my case shortly for another trip to east asia to check for myself what is happening. Meanwhile, anyone out there who'd like to pass on any information on these parts, can always emails me.
Happy travelling.
