Every destination in the Asia-Pacific region will post positive arrivals growth up to 2007, said a senior executive with the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) in Macao on Tuesday.

Speaking at the ongoing PATA annual conference, John M Koldowski, director of the PATA Strategic Intelligence Center quoted the result of the Asia Pacific Tourism Forecasts 2005-2007 saying that the new series of forecasts for 40 countries across the Asia-Pacific region predict overall growth in international visitor arrivals of 10.6 percent per year to 2007.

Every destination covered in the PATA region is predicted to post positive annual growth to 2007, ranging from 4 percent to 20.9 percent, the report said.

There are numerous factors influencing the forecasts: the recovery following the tsunami, the emergence of low-cost airlines, the rapidly rising middle-classes across Asia, and significant advances in avionics leading to new generation aircraft that will change how we move around the world, the survey said.

"Combined, these factors set to dramatically increase intra-regional travel flows," said Koldowski.

(Xinhua News Agency April 20, 2005)