Lecture 6 - Tourism in Southeast Asia

Lecture: Tourism in Southeast Asia: Challenges and New Directions
Michael Hitchcock
University of Chichester

Article: Understanding the ‘new tourist’ of Asia: Developing a global and local perspective
Norman Hassan, Perspectives in Asian Leisure and Tourism, Vol 1, Iss 1, 2008

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The lecture and article presented a brief overview of tourism in Southeast Asia with a focus on; the effects of tourism, in particular the economic, environmental and cultural effects; changes in the structure of Southeast Asian tourism, with the introduction of the concept of the ‘new tourist’; and the effects of various crises and catastrophes on Southeast Asian tourism.

The economic importance of tourism is well-documented, although in my opinion some of the claims made for its importance, nearly 20% of global GDP, seem a little exaggerated and probably reflect problems in definitions and measurement, for example accurate evaluation of the effect of various multipliers. The OECD has published guidelines to assist in standardization of tourism statistics, although I believe they may be more useful for comparative purposes than establishing absolute values. Nevertheless, tourism is undoubtedly an important economic area, as a source of FDI and foreign currency, as an employer, and as a business area with low barriers to entry, allowing small entrepreneurs, particularly women and minorities, to gain a foothold on the development ladder. One vexing issue is, however, the question of who benefits from the flows of tourism, i.e., to what extent do the tourists’ dollars trickle down.

The environmental effects of tourism cause some concern. Major historical attractions suffer damage from the shear volume of people visiting them, and the surrounding areas often undergo uncontrolled development as many people try to benefit from the visitors. Tourism in sensitive natural environments is also problematic; banning access is no answer and tourism management difficult. An example from personal experience is a family visit to Geopark Langkawi. We used a local tourist entrepreneur, traveled light, and did everything the enlightened eco-tourist should do, even insisting on collecting our own litter in a plastic bag. But on leaving the mangrove and entering open water the boatsman pushed the levers to full throttle, the plastic rubbish bag was caught by the breeze, flew overboard and was last seen floating in the sea. Despite our efforts, we had left a mark on the environment. Multiplied by hundreds of such accidents it is easy to see how natural areas get degraded by tourism. Further negative environmental effects of tourism can be found in the way beautiful areas get covered with concrete as one hotel or resort after another is built. The resorts also prevent access by local residents as previously public space is privatized.

The cultural effects of tourism are two-way; tourist to local, and local to tourist. Ideally tourism leads to greater understanding of others, less fear of the unknown, and greater tolerance. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. While young people in SEA are generally accepting of tourists, the older generations are often more critical, feeling that cultural norms are not being respected and new ‘bad’ ideas and behaviours imported. A further negative cultural effect is ‘disneyfication’ of local cultures. Local traditions become part of an international tourism industry and no longer reflect the culture from which they came. The show dancers at tourist events, for example in big hotels, each one in ‘traditional’ dress, have little in common with the reality of the various ethnic groups they purport to represent.

One topic of the lecture was changes in SEA tourism, with the concept of the ‘new tourist’. Here, the major change seems to be that western tourists - backpackers and package holiday tourists - are being joined by Asian and domestic tourists. This change is driving the increase in tourism in SEA. The two groups of tourists have slightly different consumption habits, which is a challenge. My feeling is that the habits of the two tourist groups will converge. Whereas hitherto Asian tourists have tended to buy package holidays, they are now following the path of western tourists with an increase in independent travel. This, in Asia as in Europe, has been aided by the establishment of low-cost airlines, e.g. Air Asia.

The final key aspect of the lecture was analysis of the effect on SEA tourism of various crises. From the data presented in the lecture I could ascertain no clear pattern of to what extent and over what time span, tourism is likely to be affected by health scares, government crises, terrorism, and natural catastrophes. My feeling is that tourists are to a large degree isolated from local events, so major societal changes can occur without affecting tourism. Perceptions of an acceptable level of risk play a role, with some nationalities more timid than others, and finally cost factors should not be overlooked.

To conclude, and hors d’oeuvre, my personal advice for SEA tourism development bosses:

1. Ensure a functioning and efficient transport infrastructure.
2. Ensure good personal security, i.e., low crime levels.
3. As the idiom goes; “Cleanliness is next to godliness.”
4. Do not kill the goose that laid the golden egg, i.e. do not destroy that which brought the tourists in the first place.
5. Ensure that the tourism industry can cater to all market segments; today’s impoverished backpacker is tomorrow’s wealthy middle-aged businessman.