Economic significance of high-value tourists

International tourism has grown significantly in the past decade. As one of the largest sectors in the global economy, international tourism receipts reached US$622 billion in 2004 and are growing at an annual rate of 5.9%. This study examines international tourist arrivals into Hong Kong and Thailand at different periods, in an attempt to discriminate between tourists based on their potential value to the regional economy, using characteristics of the tourist population including gender, age and type of travel. A method of identifying highvalue tourists is presented here. Discriminant analysis is then used to predict which markets are of greatest economic return for Hong Kong and Thailand in the future. The significance of the research lies in the potential to refine target marketing to increase tourist returns.