One Index of a Busy Region

Singapore--If air traffic is any indication, Asia is increasingly the world's transportation epicenter, at least as measured by busiest air routes. Amadeus Air Traffic Intelligence, an EU-based research organization, released a report detailing the world's busiest routes, as measured by passenger volume, and none are in North America.Of the top 10, seven are in Asia, with four of the seven in Japan alone. Jeju-Seoul takes the top spot with more than 10 mil passengers in 2012. If the movement of people is any indication, Asia is still bustling and the year-to-year change in regional comparisons also bears that out.While it is difficult to know exactly what this suggests beyond the obvious, the sheer volume of passengers plus the increase in Asia is impressive. It is consistent with what a casual observer--what I have been for more than two weeks--experiences on the streets of Southeast Asian cities. The continent is still a growth industry; North American, not so much.