Asian travel market shrugs off fuel surcharges

Abacus’ mid-year snapshot of the Asian travel industry shows sustained demand across the region even as rising fuel bills increased real costs for travellers.
IATA figures for the six months to June 2006 show an overall 6.2 per cent growth in revenue passenger kilometres (RPK) for Asia Pacific over the corresponding six months from 2005. This placed the region third fastest grower after the exceptional performance of the Middle East (17.3 per cent) and Africa (7.6 per cent).
While India’s total market for domestic travel grew by a remarkable 24 per cent YTD June 2006, Abacus itself grew domestic booking numbers by more than three times that rate over the period.
Domestic traffic is poised to keep growing at 25 per cent per annum from 2005 to 2010. India will also add five million additional passengers every year and the market size will grow to 50 million by 2010 according to CAPA (Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation).
21/08/06 e-Travel Blackboard (press release), Australia

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