2008 has been a tale of two fortunes for the tourism and hospitality industries in Asia. Although the subprime crisis began in 2007, the effect of the fallout was only felt in Asia in the second half of 2008. According to the United Nations World Tourism Organisation, the Asia Pacific region’s annual tourism performance growth declined the most in 2008 as compared to the other regions of the world like the Americas, the Middle East, Europe and Africa. While arrivals in the Asia Pacific region grew 6% in the first half of 2008, the last six months of the year saw a 3% drop-off in arrivals to book an overall 2% growth in the full year 2008 as compared to approximately 10% in 2007. The year will also be remembered for the meltdown in the global financial markets, and commodities, oil price and exchange rate fluctuations.

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