Across Asia, hotels, airlines and tourism operators are bracing for another tough year as the financial crisis sees long-haul visitors remain at home, and regional travelers tighten purse-strings with shorter, budget trips.

"There'll definitely be a drop in business, fewer tourists is a reality," said Laurence Lai, the owner of photo galleries located in two of Hong Kong's busiest tourist hotspots including the Star Ferry pier.

"I expect a 30-percent fall at least. I'm having to shift my strategies to confront this financial tsunami, but you just have to stand firm and face the winds," added Lai, who relies on tourists for half his sales.

Asia's blend of diverse cultures, geography, bargains and exoticism, with travel gems ranging from snowy Himalayan kingdoms to neon-lit capitals, crumbling Khmer ruins and powdery beaches - have made it one of the world's fastest growing tourism regions in recent years, along with the Middle East.

But since the downturn intensified last year, travel markets spanning Asia have suffered sharp contractions, at times worsened by political turmoil, with many projecting negative growth in 2009.

Hong Kong, now one of Asia's top tourist hubs with 29.5 million visitors last year, is predicting visitor arrivals to dip 1.6 percent in 2009, though a steeper drop of 9.2 percent is forecast for non-Chinese visitors.

Singapore's tourist arrivals, meanwhile, fell 2 percent last year with more gloom expected, while Thailand and Malaysia both expect 9-percent drops in visitors this year.

Tighter budgets bite

The UN's World Tourism Organization has described the Asia-Pacific region's performance in 2008 as having "deteriorated most rapidly," compared with the Americas, the Middle East, Europe and Africa, with tourism demand expected to be impacted further in the short to medium term.

The International Air Transport Association has warned that global airlines face their worst business crisis in 50 years with carriers facing possible collapse, revenues tumbling and hundreds of thousands of jobs at risk.

IATA'S director-general said in December that some 300,000 jobs to 400,000 jobs were at risk among some 32 million or so people now employed around the world in air transport, travel and tourism sectors.

Despite the extremely fragile situation, the Pacific Asia Travel Association expects Asia, which lured around 280 million international arrivals in 2008, to bounce back and enjoy 4 percent to 5 percent average growth over the next three years.

"We are extremely cautious in our optimism, but we still believe it'll be above the line over the next couple of years," said John Koldowski, director of the Strategic Intelligence Centre for PATA.

But Koldowski said more budget-conscious travelers cutting back on lengths of stay and spending, could spell worse-than-expected pain for tourism-reliant businesses such as retailers, catering and hotels.

"While we're saying the (arrivals) numbers may still show some growth, we're very conscious of the fact that people are changing their habits and you can't expect the same amount of revenue out there," Koldowski added.

Hotel occupancy rates in the Asia Pacific region fell to 66.7 percent last November, versus 76.4 percent for the same period a year before, according to STR Global.