The region's performance has been mixed this year with countries such as China and South Korea showing resilience but others like Thailand and Vietnam still in the doldrums, said Greg Duffell, president of the Bangkok-based Pacific Asia Travel Association.

The industry has experienced a slight upturn amid new hopes of a global economic recovery, but visitor arrivals to the region are still down by 5 percent from a year ago and likely to shrink between 4 percent and 5 percent this year, he said.