Asia

Is Asia the new Europe? China was No. 1 on Lonely Planets annual list of hot destinations for the new year, and China also placed first for the country representing the best value for the dollar in a survey of members of the U.S. Tour Operators Association.

The U.S.T.O.A. picked Southeast Asia as the hottest up and coming area for packaged travel, with the No. 2 spot going to China, India and Croatia in a three way tie.

China and India are off the charts, agreed Sandi Hughes, vice president of AAA Travel, the automobile association's travel services division. She attributed the growth in travel to the region to a combination of business travel spurred by U.S. investment; immigrants and their families traveling back and forth; and pure leisure travel by Americans interested in culture, history and monuments.

The continued weakness of the dollar against the euro and the British pound may also be leading some American travelers "to look for alternate destinations," said Rick Garlick, director of strategic consulting for the Maritz Hospitality Research Group. "Places like Thailand and Singapore have gained a new appeal."The first nine months of 2006 showed air travel to Asia by U.S. citizens was up 7% over the same period in 2005, according to the U.S. Commerce Department's Office of Travel and Tourism Industries, compared to a 4% growth in travel to Europe.

The United Kingdom, France, Italy and Germany remained among the top 10 overseas destinations for travel by U.S. residents in 2005, which was the most recent full year for which data was available from the Commerce Department. But travel to Japan, No. 7 on the top 10 list for 2005, was up 40% from 2004; travel to China, No. 10 on the list, was up 21%; travel to No. 12 Hong Kong was up 25%, and travel to No. 15 India was up 33%.