India is the fastest growing market for tourism in the Asia-Pacific region followed by China, said Visa.

Tourists visiting India spent $372 million on their Visa cards in the fourth quarter of 2005, a 25 per cent rise over the year-ago period, the payment card firm said.

In a statement issued on March 27, Visa said tourists in China spent $784 million in the fourth quarter, a 23 per cent increase from the corresponding period last year.

According to the report, the highest average spending per transaction in the Asia-Pacific region is also seen in Asia’s fast-growing economies, China and India.

While China registered the highest amount of spending, with an average of $204 spent per transaction, India saw an average $191 per transaction. The regional average is $156 per transaction.

Tourism ministry secretary A.K. Misra said, “ India is seeing a rise in the number of business travellers. Also, people of Indian origin are travelling more. Moreover, the country is an attractive destination for adventure and medical tourism.”

“We are anticipating an average growth of 15 per cent in tourism in India against the world average of 5 per cent,” he added. Indian tourism demand will grow at an annual rate of 8.8 per cent over the next 10 years. This will be fuelled by higher incomes and lower air fares, recent estimates of the World Travel and Tourism Council show.

The overall spending, through Visa cards, by travellers to and within the Asia-Pacific region totalled $6.5 billion in the October-December period.

The third quarter saw a spending of $5.8 billion.

Australia, China, Thailand, Hong Kong and Japan were the top five destinations in the region in terms of total spending by tourists, through their Visa cards, the report said.

The spending pattern showed tourists from the US, Britain, Japan, Australia and Hong Kong to be the big spenders, accounting for 54 per cent of the total spend on Visa cards.

International tourists made over 42 million Visa card transactions in the region in the last quarter of 2005 and withdrew $1.4 billion in cash at ATMs and over-the-counter outlets. Of this, about 26 per cent were spent on retail goods.

(www.telegraphindia.com)