Tourists from South Asia take photos from the dam that runs across the Singapore River's mouth at Marina Bay. International tourist arrivals in Asia have skyrocketed in recent years, with South and Southeast Asia leading the way. [Reuters]

For the second year in a row, the Goyal family of New Delhi chose Singapore as their winter getaway destination, providing a respite from the cold and smog of the Indian capital. Just a five-hour overnight flight away, Singapore is the perfect holiday destination for the Goyals and their two small children.

"It's a home away from home…economical and relaxing," Sanjana Goyal told Khabar.

The Goyals are part of a booming post-2008 tourism trend – exponential rises in Asian regional travel.

Every country in Asia saw an increase in international tourism arrivals between 2009 and 2010, with only Japan experiencing a post-tsunami drop in the first half of 2011, according to the UN World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO).

South Asia was the fastest growing sub-region (14% growth between 2009 and 2010) with the top growth rates seen in Sri Lanka (+40%), Bhutan (+25%), Nepal (+23%), Maldives (+17%) and India (+12%).

Southeast Asia also achieved steady growth with Myanmar (+30%), Thailand (+24%), and Singapore (+16%) experiencing the most growth between 2009 and 2010, reported the UNWTO.

The increased numbers of Asian citizens visiting neighbouring countries are steadily contributing to this high growth. Intra-regional flows are still the main driving force behind the double-digit growth rates in the first four months of 2011, the Pacific Asia Travel Association reported in June.

"The number of Indians travelling abroad has grown 132% between 2006 and 2011," Indian Chief Passport Officer Muktesh Pardeshi told Khabar.

India is also becoming a prime vacation destination for other Asian travellers, especially from China. The number of arrivals from the northeast Asian giant grew 10% in 2011, Indian Minister of State for Tourism Sultan Ahmed told Khabar.

With a 460 million-strong middle class, India is seeing an unparalleled boom in its domestic tourism sector. It climbed to the second position behind China in 2005 in terms of generating tourism jobs, according to figures from the UN's Economic and Social Commission for Asia-and the Pacific (UNESCAP).

But India can still improve upon its already high number of 6.29 million visitors recorded in 2011, Ahmed says.

"India's tourism infrastructure is still of questionable quality," he acknowledged.

Looking forward, regional travel in the coming years will be dominated by Asian travellers themselves and not Westerners, furthering regional co-operation and unity, a leading Indian leading travel writer, Bunny Gupta, told Khabar.

"This may lead to the promotion of greater cultural understanding among Asians and, who knows, even a common Asian economic market later in the 21st century," she said.