Definitions

International visitor arrival and expenditure data presented on PATAmPOWER are submitted by individual national tourist organisations and national statistics offices in the Asia Pacific region.

The primary source for the visitor arrival data is the embarkation/debarkation card. These cards are completed by most visitors to Asia Pacific destinations. Arrival statistics are reported to PATA either by Residency or Nationality of visitors and the current position is as follows:

Destinations report their arrivals by Residency:

Australia; Azerbaijan; Cambodia; Canada; Chinese Taipei; Colombia, Cook Islands; Costa Rica, Cyprus; Fiji; French Polynesia; Guam; Hawaii; Hong Kong SAR; Macao, China; Lebanon; New Caledonia; New Zealand; Northern Marianas; Papua New Guinea; Peru; Philippines; Samoa; Singapore; Solomon Islands; Sri Lanka; Tonga; USA; and Vanuatu.

Destinations report their arrivals by Nationality:

Bhutan; Brunei Darussalam; Chile; China; India; Indonesia; Israel; Japan; Korea (ROK); Lao PDR; Malaysia; Maldives; Mexico; Mongolia; Myanmar; Nepal; Palau; Thailand; Türkiye; and Vietnam.

The result of reporting by Nationality is that the number of (for example) European arrivals to Asia Pacific destinations, by citizens who reside in Asia Pacific countries/territories, becomes inflated. When a reporting organisation changes from Nationality to Residency reporting, apparent declines in the number of European arrivals take place and increases occur in the number of arrivals from other Asia Pacific nations.

Definitions:

Definitions used on PATAmPOWER are slightly different from those used by other tourist organisations in some instances. The following are the PATA definitions:

IVA:

Short for International Visitor Arrival.

Visitor:

Any person visiting a country/destination other than that in which he/she has his/her usual place of residence for any reason other than following an occupation remunerated from within the country/destination visited and remaining at least 24 hours. (This definition is that of a “tourist” according to UN Tourism usage.) The terms ‘Visitor’ and ‘Arrival’, as they are used throughout this platform refer to International Visitor Arrival (IVA).

PATA Regions:

PATA has grouped the destination members of the Association (and some non-members) into twelve sub-regions. The term “Asia Pacific” as used on PATAmPOWER consists of the total area embraced by these sub-regions, which is as follows:

The Americas

Central America:

Belize; Costa Rica; El Salvador; Guatemala; Honduras; Mexico; Nicaragua; and Panama.

North America:

Bermuda; Canada; Greenland; Saint Pierre and Miquelon; and the USA.

South America:

Argentina; Bolivia; Brazil; Chile; Colombia; Ecuador; Falkland Islands; French Guiana; Guyana; Paraguay; Peru; South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands; Suriname; Uruguay; and Venezuela.

Asia

Central Asia:

Kazakhstan; Kyrgyzstan; Tajikistan; Turkmenistan; and Uzbekistan.

Northeast Asia:

China; Chinese Taipei, DPR Korea; Hong Kong SAR; Japan; Korea (ROK); Macao, China; and Mongolia.

South Asia:

Afghanistan; Bangladesh; Bhutan; India; Iran; Maldives; Nepal; Pakistan; and Sri Lanka.

Southeast Asia:

Brunei Darussalam; Cambodia; Indonesia; Lao PDR; Malaysia; Myanmar; Philippines; Singapore; Thailand; Timor-Leste; and Vietnam.

West Asia:

Armenia; Azerbaijan; Bahrain; Cyprus; Georgia; Iraq; Israel; Jordan; Kuwait; Lebanon; Occupied Palestinian Territory; Oman; Qatar; Saudi Arabia; Syrian Arab Republic; Turkiye; UAE; and Yemen.

The Pacific

Melanesia:

Fiji; New Caledonia; Papua New Guinea; Solomon Islands; and Vanuatu.

Micronesia:

Federated States of Micronesia; Guam; Kiribati; Marshall Islands; Nauru; Northern Marianas; and Palau.

Oceania:

Australia; New Zealand; and Norfolk Island.

Polynesia:

American Samoa; Cook Islands; French Polynesia; Hawaii; Niue; Pitcairn Islands; Samoa; Tokelau; Tonga; Tuvalu; and the Wallis and Futuna Islands.

Source Markets of Visitor Arrivals:

Most source markets listed at PATAmPOWER are self-evident, except for the following:

Central Africa:

Angola; Cameroon; Central African Republic; Chad; Congo, Republic of the; Congo, Democratic Republic of the; Equatorial Guinea; Gabon; and Sao Tome and Principe.

East Africa:

Burundi; Comoros; Djibouti; Eritrea; Kenya; Madagascar; Malawi; Mauritius; Mayotte; Mozambique; Reunion; Rwanda; Seychelles; Somalia; Tanzania; Uganda; Zambia; and Zimbabwe.

North Africa:

Algeria; Egypt; Libya; Morocco; South Sudan; Sudan; and Tunisia.

South Africa:

Botswana; Eswatini; Lesotho; Namibia; Saint Helena; and South Africa.

West Africa:

Benin; Burkina Faso; Cape Verde; Ivory Coast; Gambia; Ghana; Guinea; Guinea-Bissau; Liberia; Mali; Mauritania; Niger; Nigeria; Senegal; Sierra Leone; and Togo.

Other Africa:

Countries in Africa not listed elsewhere.

Caribbean:

Anguilla; Antigua and Barbuda; Aruba; Bahamas; Barbados; Bermuda; Bonaire, Saint Eustatius & Saba; Cayman Islands; Cuba; Curacao; Dominica; Dominican Republic; Grenada; Guadeloupe; Haiti; Jamaica; Martinique; Montserrat; Puerto Rico; Sint Maarten; St. Kitts-Nevis; St. Lucia; St. Vincent & the Grenadines; Trinidad & Tobago; Turks & Caicos Islands; Virgin Islands, British; and Virgin Islands, United States.

Other Americas:

Countries in the Americas not listed elsewhere.

Other Asia:

Countries in Asia not listed elsewhere.

East Europe:

Belarus; Bulgaria; Czech Republic; Hungary; Moldova; Poland; Romania; the Russian Federation; Slovakia; and Ukraine.

North Europe:

Denmark; Estonia; Faeroe Islands; Finland; Iceland; Ireland; Latvia; Lithuania; Norway; Sweden; and the UK.

South Europe:

Albania; Andorra; Bosnia-Herzegovina; Croatia; Gibraltar; Greece; Holy See; Italy; Kosovo; Malta; Montenegro; North Macedonia; Portugal; San Marino; Serbia, Slovenia; and Spain.

West Europe:

Austria; Belgium; France; Germany; Liechtenstein; Luxembourg; Monaco; Netherlands; and Switzerland.

Other Europe:

Countries in Europe not listed elsewhere.

Other Pacific:

Countries in the Pacific area not listed elsewhere.

Other Countries:

Countries not listed elsewhere.

Explanatory Notes

The following notes are provided to facilitate understanding of the data contained within PATAmPOWER. Where necessary, additional notes are provided on the dashboard page to help with the correct interpretation of the data.

The terms “Asia Pacific” and “APAC” are used interchangeably within PATAmPOWER.

Regional and PATA-wide totals shown at PATAmPOWER reflect the number of visitor arrivals rather than the number of individuals travelling from their place of usual residence. For example, a person visiting Japan, Singapore, and Thailand on a single trip would be counted three times in the regional totals.
The Guam and Hawaii arrival figures are already included in the total USA count. However, the two sets of figures of Guam and Hawaii are listed under the Pacific regional grouping because they are recognised as PATA member destinations.
With the U.S. Department of Commerce and the Hawaii Tourism Authority both reporting their arrivals, double counting is inevitable. Because of different methods of data collection used, it is not possible for the two organisations to quantify the extent of overlap in their arrival figures.
The additional notes on the dashboard pages illustrate explanatory information and the correct use of the data. It is recommended that consideration be given to these before attempting any use and interpretation of the data.
Arrivals into Asia Pacific destinations from each of the source markets are as reported by destinations. The source for the arrivals data is the embarkation/debarkation card completed by visitors on arrival in each country/destination.
As outbound data of any given source market are not publicly available, source market data from worldwide markets on PATAmPOWER platform are recorded and tracked from arrivals into destinations in APAC, not to all countries/destinations worldwide.
Where data are not available and/or percentage change differences are unable to be computed, the symbol “--” will appear.