The Asean Tourism Forum brought 400 buyers to Singapore and to a man – and a woman – each had an opinion of where the hot spots would be in Asia this year.
Of those polled by Travelmole TV, Thailand was a clear winner.
Matthias Tewes, TUI Germany’s Asia specialist, picked Thailand, followed by Vietnam and Indonesia as three destinations which he expected to do well this year.
He included Indonesia on the list with a proviso that the latest bird flu outbreak in Indonesia did not worsen.
“Overall, the trend for Asia is positive and we are expecting further growth,” said Tewes. His only concern was Sri Lanka, which he felt faced a difficult year.
Yeoh Siew Hoon, TravelMole TV presenter, said, “The good news is that there are more winners than losers among Asian destinations this year.”
Other buyer’s choices were:
Susan Teng (Singapore) 1, Thailand 2, The Philippines, 3, Indonesia
Andrea Goffi (Italy) 1, Thailand 2, Malaysia 3, Indochina (Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos)
Najib M Yacoobi (France) 1, Thailand 2, Indochina 3, Myanmar
