Brunei-China aviation market: rapid growth, driven by tourism and RBA

Brunei is relying heavily on China to meet its aspirations to grow its tourism industry. China is Brunei’s second largest source market and growing fast, supported by several new routes from Royal Brunei Airlines (RBA).

Brunei has by far the smallest tourism industry in Southeast Asia. It has less than 300,000 annual visitors and tourism accounts for only 1.7% of GDP, compared to an average 4.9% for Southeast Asia.

However, Brunei has one of Asia’s fastest growing tourism industries. Visitor numbers to Brunei increased by 18% in 2017, to 259,000. The government has a target of reaching 500,000 visitors by 2021, with China the biggest driver: Brunei-China aviation market: rapid growth, driven by tourism and RBA