East Asian countries emerging favourite tourist destinations

Bangalore, June 1 (UNI) China, Japan and Thailand are some of the East Asian countries that have become favourite destinations for tourists world over, Dr Dawid de Villiers, Special Advisor to the Secretary General of the United Nations World Committee on Tourism Ethics (WCTE), said today.

Dr Dawid, who was here to attend the two-day fourth annual meeting of the WCTE to be held for the first time in an Asian country from tomorrow, said though Europe was the most sought after destination by international tourists, the dynamics were now being shifted towards the Asian countries.

According to a conservative estimate made by the UN, by 2020 1.5 billion people would travel internationally as against the present 808 million. The sector had generated over US Dollars 620 billion by the end of 2005, he revealed.

Dr Dawid said India had not really excelled in the sector.

Inspite of providing assistance, the performance did not match with the potential. However, the vibrant country had a tremendous growth potential in the sector, if only proper measures were initiated from now on, he added.

UNI SR RG SB1455