Tourist spending in India showed the strongest growth among Asia Pacific countries, rising 80 percent in the last week of June, benefiting from tourist traffic diverted from elsewhere in the region due to the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome outbreak.
The growth in the last week of May was 42 per cent, rising to 65 per cent in mid June and it reached a staggering 80 per cent as the month of June drew to a close.
In fact, the Asia Pacific region itself has seen a recovery in the month of June.
This was reflected in the number of transactions made by tourists using Visa cards in the region, as the impact of SARS continued to diminish.
By the last week of June, the number of international transactions in the region was down just 11 per cent year on year, compared with a 30 per cent decrease one month earlier.
Among all the Asia Pacific countries, international transactions in India saw the strongest growth with an increase of 80 per cent in the last week of June.
The country stood to benefit from tourist traffic diverted from elsewhere in the region due to the SARS outbreak.
The growth in the last week of May was 42 per cent, rising to 65 per cent in mid June and it reached a staggering 80 per cent as the month of June drew to a close.
Tourism is very much driven by the confidence Asians have in travel. With the outbreak of SARS contained, they are returning with renewed vigor as reflected in the spectacular increase in their travel over the past few weeks.
A Visa press release stated that tourists from India led the way, with transactions up almost 100 per cent in the last week of June.
A month ago, transactions by Indian tourists saw around 60 per cent growth over the year before.
India has consistently outperformed other countries given the growing business and the increase in the number of global payment cards issued by Visa's member banks.
The remarkable trend is also due to the move in January this year by the Reserve Bank of India, in lifting restrictions on travel expense if payment is charged to international credit cards.
Visa Asia Pacific president and chief executive officer Rupert Keeley said: "Based on current trends, we estimate that the impact of SARS will be twice as great and twice as long as compared to that of 9/11 two years ago. However, we expect international spending to return to the same levels as a year ago in the coming few weeks".
Keeley pointed out that the impact was more acutely felt this time given that SARS was largely an Asia Pacific problem, and given the important role played by tourism in the region.
In 2002, tourists spent a total of around $15 billion on Visa cards in this region, an increase of 14 per cent over the year before.
Keeley attributed the recovery to the early response and combined efforts of government and industry in containing SARS and providing relief for the worst hit sectors such as tourism and transport.
"The current trend in the past few months indicate that consumers are steadily regaining confidence and travelers are returning to the region following the successful battle against SARS," he added.
International tourist transactions on payment cards in Singapore saw the strongest rebound, down by just 20 per cent in the last week of June, compared to a decline of around 50 per cent just a month earlier.
International transactions in Hong Kong were down 40 percent in the last week of June after being down by over 50 per cent a month ago.
In China, they were down about 50 per cent in the last week of June, an improvement over the near 80 per cent decrease the month before.
Tourist transactions on Visa cards in Taiwan were down 60 per cent from a decline of 70 per cent in the last week of May.
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