Tourism

Cruise ship passenger arrivals at Port Sultan Qaboos in Muscat are expected to reach a record 231,100 for the 2010/11 fiscal year ending in June – a year-on-year increase of 72%. The total number of cruise ship visits to the port is also forecast to increase to 94, up from 78 in 2009/10.

Solid growth is expected in Thailand’s tourism sector this year, proving once again its resilience to natural disasters, political instability and economic slowdown.

The Kingdom is targeting both foreign and local holidaymakers as the government and private segment seek to increase visitor numbers and expand revenue streams in an increasingly busy tourism sector.

Indonesia has set ambitious targets for tourism growth this year, as the country looks to realise its potential as a leading international destination for visitors and expand an important part of the economy.

Brunei Darussalam is looking to target faith-based tourism by seeking to share the Sultanate’s Islamic culture and heritage with a wider audience in the Muslim world and beyond.

With the South-east Asian medical tourism market rapidly expanding, Malaysia is working to capture a larger share, with industry's designation as a national key economic area (NKEA) central to this effort. The government hopes these measures will help boost health tourist arrivals from the 2010 total of 400,000, which generated revenues of $101.65m.