Shifting towards more sustainable tourism and embracing digitalisation are the largest short- and medium-term challenges the tourism sector faces. Sustainable tourism involves implementing practices that minimise environmental impact ranging from carbon footprint mitigation to conservation of natural areas, such as forests and oceans. Diversifying tourism opportunities may help to address overtourism and ecosystems stress in any one region. Furthermore, tourism operations should promote linkages between tourism and other sectors and seek to minimise economic distortion or disruption. Digitalisation will further these goals by opening avenues such as virtual travel, smart tourism and the growth of MSMEs, but cost and knowledge barriers remain. Expansion of ICT infrastructure, ICT training and implementation cost support, and the development of robust and dynamic cybersecurity legislation are key priorities in this regard.
Economic Outlook for Southeast Asia, China and India 2023
Chapter 4. Strengthening sustainable tourism and accelerating digitalisation
Abstract
Introduction
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the future of tourism in Emerging Asia is moving towards deeper integration into the green and blue economies alongside rapid digitalisation. This trend is, among others, driven by the impacts of climate change and the increasing importance of sustainable and green tourism, as well as the role of digitalisation and technology in the travel and tourism industry.
Despite the many challenges faced by the world and the industry due to the COVID-19 pandemic, lessons learned from the pandemic present an opportunity for tourism stakeholders to re-evaluate the tourism and hospitality sector by adopting more sustainable practices. Different forms of tourism development have led to an unequal distribution of economic benefits and overexploitation of resources, and there is a growing discussion on beach resort development in Southeast Asia. Visitor management strategies are needed for sustainability and tourism should be diversified, with ecotourism as well as community-based approaches in ethnic and indigenous tourism. Meanwhile the increasing use of digital technology in travel and tourism, spurred by pandemic restrictions and health concerns, requires the attention of policy makers. Issues in Emerging Asia include cybersecurity, digital skills gaps and a lack of harmonised tourism statistics.
This chapter analyses the challenges on the road towards achieving sustainable tourism, as well as the role of the digital economy in the travel and tourism sector. Based on the analysis, the chapter presents recommendations for policy makers on making tourism more sustainable and capitalising on digitalisation.
Towards sustainable tourism
Overtourism and environmental degradation
There are many different definitions of sustainable development. Most experts tend to agree that it includes diverse pillars (UNEP and UNWTO, 2012) (Box 4.1). The Sustainable Travel Report 2022 by Booking.com found that 81% of global travellers see sustainable travel as important, with 50% stating that recent news about climate change has influenced them to travel more sustainably (Booking.com, 2022).
The G20 Rome guidelines for the future of tourism emerged in 2021 as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic (Table 4.1). They provide an overview of key issues affecting the tourism industry and how policy makers can respond to these issues effectively. The guidelines have three broad objectives: restoring confidence and enabling recovery; learning from the experience of the pandemic; and prioritising a sustainable development agenda in guiding future tourism. These objectives are embedded in seven inter-related policy areas: i) safe mobility; ii) crisis management; iii) resilience; iv) inclusiveness; v) green transformation; vi) digital transition; and vii) investment and infrastructure. The guidelines were prepared by the OECD on behalf of, and in consultation with, the Italian presidency of the G20 (OECD, 2021).
Box 4.1. Definition of sustainable tourism
Sustainable tourism development guidelines and management practices are applicable to all forms of tourism at all types of destinations, including mass tourism and the various niche tourism segments. Sustainability principles refer to tourism development’s environmental, economic and sociocultural aspects.
Thus, sustainable tourism should:
make optimal use of environmental resources that constitute a key element in tourism development, maintaining essential ecological processes and helping to conserve natural resources and biodiversity
respect the sociocultural authenticity of host communities, conserve their built and living cultural heritage and traditional values, and contribute to intercultural understanding and tolerance
ensure viable long-term economic operations, and distribute socio-economic benefits to all stakeholders, including stable employment, income-earning opportunities and social services for host communities; and contribute to poverty alleviation.
Source: UNEP and UNWTO (2005), Making Tourism More Sustainable: A Guide for Policy Makers, https://www.e-unwto.org/doi/epdf/10.18111/9789284408214.
Table 4.1. G20 Rome guidelines for action
Source: OECD (2021), “G20 Rome guidelines for the future of tourism: OECD Report to G20 Tourism Working Group”, OECD Tourism Papers, No. 2021/03, http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/d11080db-en.
Nonetheless, the environment is often perceived as a resource to be exploited. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, popular coastal tourist destinations in Emerging Asia, such as Bali (Indonesia), Goa (India), Hainan Island (China), Phuket (Thailand), or Sihanoukville (Cambodia) received growing numbers of visitors, whose presence and activities had a negative impact on the local environment and communities. The harm included immense waste generation, the expansion of uncontrolled tourism resorts and infrastructure, and damage to marine ecosystems. Severe problems of overtourism and degradation of the environment could lead to temporary closure of the tourist destinations (Box 4.2).
As part of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, some tourist destinations across Emerging Asia were closed for extended periods. Various reports have shown that wildlife and natural environments began recovering in the absence of visitors. In India and Thailand, nesting turtles were observed at undisturbed beaches, while in waters off Hong Kong, China, Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins returned (Spenceley, 2021).
Box 4.2. Temporary closure of popular coastal tourist destinations
Problems of overtourism and degradation of natural resources on the Philippines’ Boracay island and at Thailand’s Maya Bay led to government decisions in 2018 to close these popular destinations temporarily. Maya Bay, for example, received 5 000 tourists per day and up to 100 motorised boats could be counted simultaneously (Cripps, 2022). Tourists walked on reefs and corals, and boats slammed their anchors into the sea. Boracay, which welcomed 2 million visitors in 2017, reported severe sewage issues, and its beachside waters developed algal bloom, an indicator of pollution and bad water conditions. The closure of an entire tourist destination was a relatively uncommon approach prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. While such shutdowns can help the environment to recover, they also lead to the loss of jobs and revenue, strongly affecting small businesses and poorly-protected informal workers. The tourism shutdown of Boracay affected more than 30 000 employees in the hospitality and tourism industry, including an estimated 17 000 informal workers.
The reopening of Boracay began in late 2018 and was implemented in phases, with restrictions on visitor numbers and new visitor management regulations:
Table 4.2. Initiatives following the reopening of Boracay
Visitor management strategies for sustainable and green tourism
Sustainable and responsible tourism require innovative approaches to stimulate but manage demand. In addition to approaches like zoning, education of visitors, fines, and limits of acceptable change, more holistic strategies need to be developed.
Managing demand
Strategies for managing tourist demand include demarketing, ensuring that visits are spread over the seasons, and discouraging particular types of tourists identified as having significant impact on and low value to the destination area. Demarketing aims to decrease demand at a particular place and time. It adopts tactics from the classic marketing mix of the “four Ps” – Product, Place, Price and Promotion, as summarised by Hall and Wood (2021) (Table 4.3). Such tactics have been used to respond to issues of overtourism and could be used to relaunch tourism in a more controlled and sustainable way. For example, a product demarketing strategy was implemented that removed the Taj Mahal from the Uttar Pradesh tourism brochure, with the aim of redirecting tourists to other, less visited sites. In addition, ticket prices were increased to attract fewer but high-yield tourists (Kainthola, Tiwari and Chowdhary, 2021).
Table 4.3. Demarketing to manage visitor demand
Source: Authors’ compilation based on Hall and Wood (2021), “Demarketing tourism for sustainability: Degrowing tourism or moving the deckchairs on the Titanic?”, https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/3/1585.
Another relevant concept is degrowth. Instead of focusing on the continuous growth and expansion of tourism, it emphasises the reduction of tourism size and impact as well as the rights of local communities and a rebuilding of the social capacities of tourism (Higgins-Desbiolles et al., 2019).
Managing effects of tourist presence
Strategies for reducing the negative effects of tourist presence involve modifying the way tourists use a site in order to reduce damaging practices. This can be done, for example, by dispersing or concentrating use through zoning and by developing clearly managed tourist trails to regulate tourists’ interaction with the environment and the local population. Regulations and education supporting sustainable tourism and behaviour need to be geared towards various stakeholders, including tourists, local residents and the tourism industry, and can be used in tourism planning and management in different ways.
The concept of persuasion is an indirect educational approach that can influence rather than police behaviour. For example, an exhibition on the impact of unsustainable tourist practices is a soft approach that can increase awareness and persuade visitors to adopt more responsible travel behaviour. Codes of conduct are often employed to educate tourists and are mostly used on a voluntary basis. Mandatory regulations are only effective if they are enforced. In many regions they are often poorly enforced or simply impossible to enforce due to financial or other constraints. However, when mandatory regulations are not followed, there can be enforceable consequences, usually a fine, which in itself can lead to increased compliance. Voluntary codes of conduct can contribute towards filling voids in mandatory regulations, especially while the mandatory rules are being developed and fine-tuned – a process that can take much longer than implementing voluntary codes of behaviour.
Managing resource capabilities
Strategies to ensure that a site has the resources to handle tourists sustainably include developing facilities and ensuring that the quality and provision of infrastructure is aligned to demand. As natural resources and social conditions are the key considerations for tourism to take place, one tool is carrying capacity, which aims to determine the number of visitors a destination can accommodate at a certain period of time without harming the ecological, economical or sociocultural environment. Indeed, quotas, i.e. the capping of tourist numbers, have been applied at a number of urban and coastal tourist destinations across Emerging Asia where overcrowding has become critical. Examples include the Forbidden City in Beijing, Maya Bay in Thailand, and Boracay in the Philippines. Another strategy is development-density controls, which are commonly based on the number of accommodation units per unit of land area. Height restrictions can be useful to prevent the built environment from becoming intrusive. Another indicator of density can be expressed by the floor area ratio (FAR), or floor space ratio (FSR), i.e. the area of all floors of all buildings on a site divided by the area of that site. Finally, minimum distances between landscape features (e.g. between the shore and the start of permitted built infrastructure), known as “setbacks”, play a central role in sustainable landscaping design.
Sustainable tourism in the blue economy
The blue economy is defined as “the sustainable use of ocean and coastal resources to drive economic growth and improve livelihoods while protecting and nurturing marine ecosystems, which involves coral reefs, mangroves and coastal settlements” (World Bank, 2017). All Emerging Asian countries except Lao PDR have access to the sea, and thus coastal areas. A significant percentage of the population in these countries lives within 60 kilometres of the coastline. For example, India’s coastline extends over 7 500 km and spreads over nine coastal states. Coastal and marine tourism have thus been an essential part of regional tourism development. The region’s extensive beaches, reefs, biodiversity, affordable prices, developed infrastructure and easy accessibility have attracted an ever-growing number of visitors and facilitated an abundance of economic opportunities.
The blue economy has diverse components, which usually include established traditional ocean industries such as fisheries, tourism and maritime transport, but also new and emerging activities, such as offshore renewable energy, aquaculture, seabed extractive activities, marine biotechnology and bioprospecting.
Coastal and ocean-related tourism range from mass forms of tourism, such as seaside and island resorts and cruise tourism, to alternative forms such as dive tourism, maritime archaeology, surfing, ecotourism and recreational fishing. In Emerging Asia, we can identify several forms of tourism that draw on the blue economy and ocean resources, including “Sun, Sand, Sea” tourism; snorkelling, diving and marine sports; cruise tourism; ecotourism including tours of local fishing villages; gastronomic tourism, involving the consumption of seafood; and research-related tourism including scientific tourism, academic tourism and volunteer tourism (Table 4.4). As an example, Box 4.3 demonstrates four major types of ocean tourism in the Philippines.
Table 4.4. Tourism products deriving from the blue economy in Emerging Asia
Source: Authors’ compilation based on APEC (2020), APEC Economic Study on the Impact of Cruise Tourism: Fostering MSMEs’ Growth and Creating Sustainable Communities, https://www.apec.org/docs/default-source/publications/2020/8/apec-economic-study-on-the-impact-of-cruise-tourism/220_twg_apec-study-on-the-economic-impact-of-cruise-tourism.pdf?sfvrsn=9ffd6385_1; Lamers, Eijgelaar and Amelung (2015); “The environmental challenges of cruise tourism: Impacts and governance”, https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780203072332-48/environmental-challenges-cruise-tourism-impacts-governance-machiel-lamers-eke-eijgelaar-bas-amelung; Pino and Peluso (2018), “The development of cruise tourism in emerging destinations: Evidence from Salento, Italy”, https://www.jstor.org/stable/26366552; Shah, Trupp, and Stephenson (2022), “Deciphering tourism and the acquisition of knowledge: Advancing a new typology of ‘Research-related Tourism (RrT)’”, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1447677021002084; and Zafra (2021), “Developing the Philippine blue economy: Opportunities and challenges in the ocean tourism sector”, https://www.adb.org/publications/developing-philippine-blue-economy-opportunities-and-challenges-ocean-tourism-sector.
Box 4.3. Profiling ocean tourism in the Philippines
Services, which include tourism, contribute 23.9% to the Philippines’ blue economy, with ocean fishing and ocean industry accounting for the rest (Figure 4.1). The fishing sector includes fishing on open seas and sea-based aquaculture, while the industrial sector comprises the manufacture of ocean-based products, offshore and coastal mining, ocean-based power generation, transmission and distribution, and coastal construction. The services sector includes coastal accommodations, food and beverage activities and coastal recreation, together with other services activities. Opportunities and challenges are associated with certain types of ocean tourism, including sun and beach tourism, dive tourism, ecotourism and cruise tourism (Table 4.5).
Figure 4.1. Components of the ocean economy in the Philippines, 2021
Source: Authors’ compilation based on latest data from national sources.
Table 4.5. Blue economy tourism challenges in the Philippines
Source: Authors’ adaptation of Zafra (2021), “Developing the Philippine blue economy: Opportunities and challenges in the ocean tourism sector”, https://www.adb.org/publications/developing-philippine-blue-economy-opportunities-and-challenges-ocean-tourism-sector, and national sources.
Sustainable tourism can be part of the blue economy. It can help to promote conservation and sustainable use of marine environments and species, to generate income for local communities and to maintain and respect local cultures, traditions and heritage. Given the wealth and biodiversity of natural resources in Southeast Asia, South Asia and the Pacific Islands, the potential for a vibrant blue economy is especially high. In 2015, the share of ocean economy to gross domestic product (GDP) of countries in the region ranged from 30% (Thailand), 28% (Indonesia), 23% (Malaysia), 20.8% (Viet Nam) and 16% (Cambodia) to 9.4% (China) and 7% (Philippines and Singapore) (Global Environment Facility, United Nations Development Programme, and PEMSEA, 2018). It should be noted that the tourism sector is vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and fluctuations in global economies (Connell, 2017).
The countries of Emerging Asia have expanded and improved infrastructure such as seaports and airports in the effort to expand the sectors of their blue economies. For instance, corresponding to the increase of international arrivals by water to Indonesia, the country has developed infrastructure for ground and port capacity, improving its ranking in the World Economic Forum’s Travel & Tourism Competitive Index by 43 points, to 34 in 2021 from 77 in 2015 (WEF, 2021). Indonesia has thus made a significant investment in resources for the blue economy. Viet Nam, China, Thailand, India and Cambodia have also improved their ground and port infrastructure. Singapore, one of the world’s most developed seaports, is ranked second in the WEF index, while Malaysia ranks just ahead of Indonesia in terms of ground and port infrastructure (Table 4.6). It should be noted that the expansion of ground and port facilities supports the development of cruise tourism as well as marine-related tourism activities.
Table 4.6. Ground and port infrastructure
Source: Authors’ compilation from WEF (2021), Travel & Tourism Competitive Index, data from 2015 and 2021, https://www.weforum.org/reports/travel-and-tourism-development-index-2021/downloads-510eb47e12.
Cruise tourism
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, cruise tourism was among the fastest growing branches of the tourism industry. In Emerging Asia, the main ports for cruise tourism include Ho Chi Minh City (Viet Nam), Port Klang and Penang (Malaysia), Shanghai (China), Phuket (Thailand) and Singapore. However, cruise tourism has been highly criticised for its negative environmental and economic impacts. Cruise ships are practically floating hotels and produce a lot of waste. As documented by Lamers, Eijgelaar and Amelung (2015), on a seven-day cruise a medium-sized cruise ship with 2 000 passengers and 800 crew members aboard produces 750 000 litres of black water (water containing human waste), 3.75 million litres of grey water (from bathrooms, laundry and kitchen) and eight tonnes of solid waste. While cruising, these vessels also produce significant amounts of air and water pollutants, as well as greenhouse gases. Once they reach their destinations, cruise ships cause additional negative environmental impacts via mooring activities, including anchoring, embarking and disembarking at ports; loading supplies; and recreational activities onshore. The large influx of simultaneous arrivals often leads to overcrowding and congestion at the destination.
Nevertheless, cruise lines are increasingly aware of such negative impacts and are focusing on environmental protection. Furthermore, cruise tourism can generate positive economic spillovers for port cities. Liquid natural gas is replacing traditional fuels for cruise ships, leading to significant reduction in sulphur, particulate matter, and nitric oxide emissions and hybrid ships will soon follow, perhaps more than 15% of new ships in the next five years. Cruise lines are also supporting infrastructure development in ports to allow for connection to shoreside electricity, which is less polluting than running engines in ports (CLIA, 2023). Other benefits include infrastructure development to support excursionists, potential growth of port cities as tourist destinations, and economic opportunities for women and entrepreneurs.
The development of cruise tourism depends mainly on port facilities and access to water. Table 4.7 describes patterns of port calls in 2019 (CLIA, 2019). Singapore, China and India are generating regions for cruise passengers when the numbers of turnaround port calls are significant. The large volume of passengers from China and India contributes to the high volume of turnaround port calls in five major seaports of mainland China, Hong Kong (China) and Goa (India). Singapore, meanwhile, has become a boarding port for cruise passengers from nearby countries. Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia, which host more transit ships, are arrival destinations for cruise ships on the Asian loop. Transit calls also outnumber port calls in Viet Nam and the Philippines.
Table 4.7. Port calls, 2019
Note: Port calls are the number of planned deployments at the beginning of each year. A turnaround port call occurs when the vessel arrives under one cruise number and departs with a different cruise number. Transit port calls apply to all ships with arrival and departure scheduled on the same day. An overnight port call occurs when the vessel departs at least one day after arriving in port.
Source: Authors’ compilation from CLIA (2019), Asia Cruise Deployment and Capacity Report, Cruise Lines International Association, https://cruising.org/-/media/research-updates/research/2019-asia-deployment-and-capacity---cruise-industry-report.ashx.
Figure 4.2 shows a sharp increase in the volume of cruise passengers in Asian waters between 2013 and 2020, demonstrating the rapid growth of the cruise tourism segment in Emerging Asia. However, cruise tourism was hit badly during the pandemic, and recovery has been slower than in other sectors.
Figure 4.2. Cruise ship capacity growth, 2013-20
Note: Operating days = days spent cruising in Asian waters. Passenger capacity = the number of lower berths multiplied by the number of cruises for each vessel.
Source: Authors’ calculations from CLIA (2020), Asia Cruise Deployment and Capacity Report, Cruise Lines International Association, https://cruising.org/-/media/clia-media/research/2021/oneresource/2020-asia-cruise-deployment-and-capacity-report.ashx.
Climate change and sustainable tourism
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), China and India are home to 45% of the world’s population. Rapid modernisation and economic growth have made the region a significant contributor to climate change. Asia produces approximately half of global carbon emissions and will face rising temperatures, rising sea levels and a higher frequency of weather extremes. Climate change events include changes in precipitation, floods, storms, that endanger natural and built attractions, reduce the attractiveness of destinations and threaten livelihoods (Fang et al., 2022).
Tourism often develops in areas that are exposed to the effects of climate change, such as coastal areas, islands, low-lying urban areas and highland regions. At the same time, tourism activities contribute to carbon emissions both directly – for example, due to the combustion of petrol for transport or the use of energy for air conditioning in hotels – and indirectly, via carbon embodied in products bought or used by tourists, such as food, shopping and accommodation.
Carbon emissions
At the global level, tourism is responsible for about 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions (Lenzen et al., 2018). Carbon emissions in Southeast Asia have been rising at nearly 5% per year over the 1990-2010 period, mainly driven by deforestation and changes in land use and energy consumption concerning industry transport and coal and gas usage (ADB, 2015). The Asia-Pacific region produces at least 35% more greenhouse gases now than in the year 2000, and 80% of the region’s total greenhouse gas emissions were generated by just five countries – China, India, Japan, Korea and Russia (UNESCAP, 2022).
There are large regional differences in annual per capita emissions between the more economically advanced countries, such as Brunei Darussalam (16.6 metric tonnes), Singapore (8.8), China (7.4) and Malaysia (7.6), and the less developed countries such as Cambodia (0.7) and Myanmar (0.6) (World Bank, 2022). Based on absolute numbers, China is the world’s biggest carbon dioxide (CO2) emitter, followed by the United States and India. Odonkor (2020) notes that the region recorded “a total of 450 000 premature deaths as a result of energy-related air pollution” in 2018 and that this could reach at least 650 000 by 2040.
Effects of climate change
Temperature plays a significant role in tourism since it is closely correlated with climate comfort and the natural attractiveness of tourist destinations. Susanto et al. (2020) provide evidence from Indonesia, where every 1% increase in temperature is reflected in a 1.37% decrease in the number of international visitors. The region is expected to face higher economic costs from climate change than most other regions, especially in agriculture and tourism, where losses are expected to total 11% of GDP by 2100 (ADB, 2015).
Climate change has contributed to the closure or change of snorkelling and diving sites and the reduction of beach space. Evidence from Thailand’s Mu Ko Surin National Park shows how increasing sea temperatures at the destination led to mass coral bleaching, sea-level rise and increased wave height, resulting in a beach erosion rate of 0.38 metres per year and changes in precipitation (Cheablam and Shrestha, 2015). Similar developments have been observed in other coastal tourism destinations in Emerging Asia, prompting the dive tourism industry to enhance its adaptive capacity (Tapsuwan and Rongrongmuang, 2015). Suggestions include considering the effects of climate change on dive and snorkel operators’ business plans; diversification of products and services; and facilitating climate change discussions among operators within and across the region.
Poor and marginalised populations are greatly exposed to climate risks in Asia. Landlocked Lao PDR has a low adaptive capacity, making the country very vulnerable to climate change, especially floods and droughts. Since the 1990s, the heritage town of Luang Prabang, along the Mekong River, has become one of the country’s leading tourism destinations, and this has been accompanied by rapid construction, intensification of tourist businesses and displacement of the local population outside the heritage site. Climate change has exacerbated the destination’s rapid development. The combination of change in land cover and climate change increases flood risks. In Lao PDR, low capacity and limited staff and resources have played a role in hindering the country’s aim to make cities greener and more resilient (Fumagalli, 2020).
In an assessment of the optimal use of natural resources, the tourism industry faces a multitude of significant sustainability-related challenges. The importance of sustainability is included in the ASEAN Tourism Strategic Plan 2016-2025. Its core challenges include implementing Strategic Direction 2, “to ensure that ASEAN tourism is sustainable and inclusive”, and Strategic Action 2.3, to “increase the responsiveness to environmental protection and climate change” (ASEAN, 2015).
Specific challenges that need to be resolved through the greening of the industry include: i) energy and greenhouse gas emissions; ii) water consumption; iii) waste management; iv) loss of biological diversity; v) effective management of built and cultural heritage; and vi) planning and governance (UNEP and UNWTO, 2012).
Table 4.8 presents “Pillar 15: Environmental Sustainability” from the dataset of World Economic Forum’s latest Travel & Tourism Development Index (WEF, 2021). The measurement of environmental sustainability is based on three main indicators, all of which impact travel and tourism: climate change exposure and management; pollution and environmental conditions; and preservation of nature. Results are on a scale of 1-7. In Emerging Asia, the Philippines (3.11) and Thailand (3.13) score lowest on climate change. For the second indicator, which includes water stress, marine and air pollution, loss of forest cover and risk of species extinction, India scores lowest (2.64), while China (3.32) and Viet Nam (3.41) are on the critical threshold. India again scores lowest on preservation of nature (3.71). Overall, Singapore obtains the region’s best score for environmental sustainability (4.04), followed by Indonesia and Cambodia (3.90).
Countries in the region, however, have taken various initiatives to address environmental challenges in the tourism sector and shift towards sustainable practices. In Thailand, for instance, low-carbon, organic and sustainable approaches are implemented in several areas including Phuket-Phang Nga, and Pathom Organic Village in Suan Sampran that use sustainable food system and organic farming.
Table 4.8. Environmental sustainability in countries of Emerging Asia (WEF Pillar 15)
Source: WEF (2021), Travel & Tourism Competitive Index, data from 2015-21, https://www.weforum.org/reports/travel-and-tourism-development-index-2021/downloads-510eb47e12.
Depletion of forest resources in Southeast Asia is another critical issue. Statistics of forest coverage area from 1990 to 2020 from the World Bank’s World Development Indicators database (World Bank, 2022) in Table 4.9 show that the highest level of accumulative forest loss has been in Cambodia, Indonesia, and Myanmar. However, forest cover expanded in China, India, and Thailand, and increased dramatically in Viet Nam.
Tourism in developing Asia is highly concentrated in certain areas (Dolezal, Trupp and Bui, 2020). This can adversely affect fragile environments such as mountains or oceans. Box 4.4 shows the negative impact of increasing numbers of tourists in India’s Himalayas.
Table 4.9. Forest area in Emerging Asia, 1990-2020
Percentage of total land area
Note: Forest area (% of total land area) = Land under natural or planted stands of trees of at least 5 metres in situ, whether productive or not, and excludes tree stands in agricultural production systems (for example, in fruit plantations and agroforestry systems) and trees in urban parks and gardens. Areas under reforestation that have not yet reached but are expected to reach a canopy cover of 10% and a tree height of 5 metres are included, as are temporarily unstocked areas, resulting from human intervention or natural causes, which are expected to regenerate.
Source: World Bank (2022), World Development Indicators (database), https://databank.worldbank.org/source/world-development-indicators.
Box 4.4. Mountain tourism in the Indian Himalayas
India’s Himalayan Region is well known not only for its scenic beauty, subalpine and alpine pastures, and rich biodiversity, but also for its cultural diversity. The region offers two types of tourism to domestic and international visitors. Trekkers and mountaineers come for adventure tourism, while the region draws Hindu and Buddhist pilgrims worldwide. India is home to Kangchenjunga, the third tallest mountain in the world and a particularly sacred mountain for the Lepcha and Bhutia peoples of Sikkim.
Figure 4.3. Tallest peaks in the Indian Himalayan range, metres
Source: Authors’ compilation based on data from Alpine Club (n.d.), Himalayan Index database, http://www.alpine-club.org.uk/hi/screen1.php.
Under India’s Swadesh Darshan programme, theme-based tourist circuits have been developed in the region, such as the Northeast Circuit, Eco-circuit, Himalayan Circuit and Spiritual Circuit. Tourism has been rising for decades in the region, interrupted only during the pandemic in 2020-21. However, increasing tourist flows have increased waste disposal alongside valleys and rivers in the mountains, and waste management has been a big challenge. Other issues include deforestation in Sikkim and water shortages. While local residents consume an average of 75 litres of water a day, a tourist consumes about 100 litres a day. The Ladakh region suffers from water shortages as the state is mostly dependent on snow/glacial melt and the flow of the River Indus.
Recommendations have been issued to the respective states for better tourism management. The first is an assessment of carrying capacity at tourist destinations and eco-sensitive zones prior to online registration of visitors. The second calls for the quantification and segregation of waste; development of biocomposting units; and community-based recycling of non-biodegradable waste. Third, regular monitoring of air and water quality is to be practiced in urban and rural areas to assess tourism’s impact, along with an inventory of water resources, including seasonal discharge rates. Fourth, the positive and negative aspects of tourism are to be assessed in a study on tourism activities, biodiversity and the socio-cultural system. Strengthening of community-based tourism needs to be encouraged to reinforce sustainable tourism in the Indian Himalayan Region.
Source: Government of India (2022), Environmental Assessment of Tourism in the Indian Himalayan Region, http://www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/files/file/tourism-environmental-assessment-Himalayan-region-report-NGT-June2022.pdf.
The way forward
Studies highlight that tourism stakeholders often lack understanding of the actual causes of climate change or that they view climate change as irrelevant to their business (Mat et al., 2020). Such misconceptions can lead to wrong action or inaction regarding business or destination management. Knowledge-transfer programmes and broader public and community participation have been suggested to complement climate-change policies (Tapsuwan and Rongrongmuang, 2015).
There is also the need for a more systematic measuring of climate impacts on tourism for public and private-sector organisations alike. While governments can record climate data aligned with their climate commitments, businesses and industry stakeholders also need to be well informed about carbon and climate risks and engage in environmental commitments. Tourism and hospitality companies can collect data on energy consumption, sources and volume of carbon emissions, and usage of other resources, as suggested in a recent report (ADB and UNWTO, 2022).
Studies recommend a shift to cleaner technology and non-fossil-fuel energy, as well as more resource-saving consumer behaviour (Zhang and Liu, 2019). Governments should create additional mechanisms to encourage environmentally sustainable behaviour and to ensure that tourism stakeholders, including tourists, local communities and industries, are held accountable for their effect on the environment. Sun, Lin and Higham (2020) propose reconfiguring the tourism demand mix to promote low-carbon regional travel. Specific scenarios for achieving the reduction of tourism-based emissions include degrowth (reducing tourist numbers), low-carbon-intensity trips (longer stays and even distribution in monthly arrivals), carbon reduction (via eco-efficiency of tourist infrastructure) and carbon-offset initiatives (e.g. for inevitable air travel). Green tourism initiatives in Southeast Asia should also further encourage domestic and regional travel, which depend less on travel by air.
Community-based approaches in ethnic and indigenous tourism
Tourism not only has environmental impacts that compromise sustainability but also leads to changing sociocultural dynamics, including in gender relations (Trupp and Sunanta, 2017), cultural commodification (Cole, 2007), inequalities within the resident population (Dolezal and Novelli, 2020) and economic leakages (Geoffrey Lacher and Nepal, 2010). Such sociocultural impacts play a particularly important role in destinations where local people themselves represent part of the tourist attraction, such as in ethnic and indigenous tourism.
Ethnic tourism is when travellers choose to experience the practices of another culture first-hand. In Emerging Asia, such tourism takes place in the highlands of Southeast Asia (Thailand, Lao PDR, Myanmar, and Viet Nam) and in south-western China (Yunnan). It takes the form of trekking tours; one-day excursions to easily reachable minority or indigenous villages; and ethnic-minority souvenir selling at urban markets or beachside tourist destinations (Trupp, 2017).
In Thailand, much ethnic tourism to highland villages (“hilltribe tourism”) evolved in an uncontrolled and unplanned manner. Many of these villages receive a high number of tourists (sometimes more than 100 per day), yet their participation in the planning and management of tourism and their actual benefit from it is very low. Tourist numbers often fluctuate, and there is no secured income from tourism as villagers largely depend on tourist-generated income from souvenir selling, posing for cameras and taking part in local homestays. Another common problem is that tourism-generated income often benefits a local elite, who run the accommodation or the most prominent souvenir stalls in the village. Such tourism does not necessarily support local development and can lead to further local and regional disparities.
To counter such developments, one strategy is community-based tourism (CBT), which seeks to engage the host community in tourism planning, development and management. CBT has emerged as an alternative to mass tourism and its negative impacts. It can be a catalyst for reviving local cultures, including the languages, customs and traditions of indigenous groups, thus helping to achieve sustainable development goals (Scheyvens et al., 2021). For example, in Lai Chau (Viet Nam), Sìn Suối Hồ CBT successfully promotes indigenous leadership. Villagers know that their H’Mông traditional identity attracts tourists and have integrated traditional livelihoods, such as horticulture and agriculture, into the tourism value chain (Phi and Pham, 2022).
“Pro-poor tourism”, which integrates the tourism development agenda with poverty alleviation, can be of use in the region, where a substantial proportion of the population lives below the poverty line. Pro-poor tourism is an impetus for local development in less developed countries such as Cambodia, Lao PDR and Myanmar, and for ethnic groups communities in Thailand (Trupp and Sunanta, 2017), China (Wen, Cai and Li, 2021) and Viet Nam (Truong, Hall and Garry, 2014). A case study in Lao PDR highlights the potential that tourism offers to some communities, but also identifies challenges and consequences that can undermine the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (Pasanchay and Schott, 2021). In remote mountainous areas of Viet Nam, for example, there has been unequal distribution of profit from tourism, with a large proportion of income going to the tour operators, leaving a tiny balance for poor local street vendors (Truong, Hall and Garry, 2014).
Box 4.5. Risks faced by local communities that become dependent on tourism
Tourism development is widely promoted as providing livelihoods for local communities, including those whose resources depend on the ocean, such as fishing villages. A case study on Indonesia’s Komodo island of a fishing village that became dependent on tourism shows both the opportunities and challenges of this sort of livelihood transition (Lasso and Dahles, 2018). Tourism on Komodo has been rising since the 1980s, mainly been driven by Komodo National Park, home of the famous Komodo dragon, as well as improved accessibility and increasing numbers of cruise-ship tourists.
Table 4.10. Komodo dragon facts
|
Type |
Reptile |
|
Diet |
Carnivore |
|
Average life span in the wild |
30 years |
|
IUCN Red List status* |
Endangered |
|
Size and weight |
10 feet (3 metres), 330 pounds (150 kilogrammes) |
|
Size relative to a 6-foot (1.8-metre) man |
|
Note: * International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species.
Source: Authors’ adaptation from National Geographic (n.d.), “Komodo dragon”, https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/reptiles/facts/komodo-dragon.
Tourism in the coastal areas of Komodo brought in additional income and also contributed to local livelihoods by reducing pressure on natural resources. Fishermen on the island increasingly moved away from fishing and involved themselves in tourism-related entrepreneurial activities, mainly souvenir businesses, and in smaller numbers in homestays and local tour guiding. Although the transformation from a fishing-based to a tourism-based livelihood brought about relatively good income for local community members, this shift significantly increased their vulnerability. A return to the fishing economy has become very difficult as many local people have given up their boats and surrendered their fishing skills.
Dependency on tourism as a single source of income becomes highly challenging in times of crisis, such as during the COVID-19 pandemic. Stakeholders in local coastal and island tourism contexts need to support livelihood diversification involving both tourism- and non-tourism-based businesses. Education and training for local community members are needed to expand their skills beyond souvenir production and sales.
Another issue spawned by increased tourism is the displacement of local communities, abandonment of traditional practices and increased reliance on tourism as a livelihood activity (Movono, Scheyvens and Auckram, 2022). A study of Komodo Village on Indonesia’s Komodo Island revealed that increased tourism resulted in the local community giving up fishing to focus on selling souvenirs. While this may deliver short-term gains, dependence on this new livelihood brings considerable risks given that the market is limited, competitive and seasonal (Lasso and Dahles, 2018) (Box 4.5). In search of a better model of local community participation in tourism, a partnership between the private sector and the community at the Misool Marine Reserve, also in Indonesia, sets an excellent example of linking tourism with conserving the marine environment (Box 4.6).
Box 4.6. Linking ecotourism with conservation: Misool Marine Reserve
The Misool Marine Reserve protects a complex and biodiverse coral-reef system in South Raja Ampat, Indonesia. The reserve is jointly managed by the Misool Foundation and Misool Resort, a private island resort that uses ecotourism revenue to fund the reserve. The Misool Marine Reserve was established in 2005. A unique lease agreement forged with the local community enabled the creation of a 425 km2 no-fishing zone, known as a No-Take Zone (NTZ), expanded in 2010 to cover 1 220 km2 across two connected zones. All marine extraction is prohibited within the NTZs, including small-scale artisanal fishing and the collection of turtle eggs. The initiative not only prevents overfishing and marine plastic pollution associated with the fishing industry, but also prevents destructive illegal fishing practices and protects marine species, such as sharks, from exploitation by illegal wildlife traders. By successfully expanding their outreach and engaging in multistakeholder partnerships, including with international NGOs involved in conservation, Misool Resort served as a catalyst for the declaration of a Shark and Manta Sanctuary across the entire marine area of Raja Ampat (46 000 km2), aimed at re-establishing healthy stocks of these species, and the development of a network of six marine protected areas across Raja Ampat that together protect nearly 45% of the area’s reefs and mangrove systems.
The Misool Ranger Patrol enforces the NTZs with patrols from their basecamp at the resort and three satellite ranger stations. Some rangers are former fishermen who now earn more by protecting the reserve and educating their communities on marine conservation. The ranger patrol is funded by Misool Resort as well as grants from international foundations and private donors. In 2019, the rangers conducted 383 patrols, with an average of 3.05 hours of patrol time per person per day.
Together, Misool Resort and the Misool Foundation employ about 250 people, 96% of whom are Indonesian. These salaries support an estimated 1 000 people from the local communities. In addition, Misool Foundation established two sustainable livelihood co-operatives in the Misool area and on Solor Island in East Indonesia. These co-operatives provide training in sustainable fishing techniques and assist with developing skills in business and financial management. The reserve’s management plan is periodically reviewed and updated to ensure optimum performance.
Figure 4.4. Marine Protected Area as a percentage of exclusive economic zone
Source: Authors’ compilation, based on data from CEIC.
Through this approach, the Misool team has demonstrated a number of best practices in conservation, including establishing a marine protected area, expanding protection outside the boundaries of the protected area, involving the local community, positively impacting the local economy, working with the government, collaborating with other conservation groups, adapting to change, mitigating the potential negative consequences of ecotourism, implementing innovative waste management solutions, conducting research and monitoring, and educating others.
Source: Authors’ adaptation from UNESCAP and Misool Foundation (n.d.), Misool Marine Reserve: Successfully Linking Ecotourism with Conservation, https://sdghelpdesk.unescap.org/technical-assistance/best-practices/misool-marine-reserve-successfully-linking-ecotourism.
Local communities in remote mountainous areas play an important role in promoting small-scale sustainable tourism. Owing to the cultural and religious symbolic meaning of the mountain, in addition to surrounding forests and landscapes, innovative tourism products with links to the local community are options for development (Jones, Bui and Apollo, 2021). Mountains are not only distinctive for biological characteristics and landscape values, but numerous Himalayan peaks are sacred in indigenous beliefs. Mountainous areas also provide excellent environments for stargazing and viewing astronomical phenomena, which can be sold as “astrotourism” experiences with facilities, lodging and guides (Table 4.11). Participants on these tours also have opportunities to interact with the local villages and appreciate their arts and crafts. A series of experiences known as Astrostays established in the Ladakh region of India demonstrate the fullest potential of this tourism model. The experiences provide jobs, especially for women, and the revenues generated are reinvested into community improvements such as greenhouses and solar water heaters (UNWTO and FAO, 2021).
Table 4.11. Examples of astrotourism locations in low- and lower-middle-income countries*
Note: “Attraction” refers to the principal attraction for the location. Astrotourism can take place at all sites. *Country income classification is based on World Bank Country and Lending Groups for fiscal year 2023.
Source: Astrotourism (n.d.), “Places”, https://www.astrotourism.com/world-best-stargazing-places-top-astrotourism-destinations/.
Another such successful mountain tourism example is “The Akha Experience” in northern Lao PDR, a community-based ecotourism programme. During a three-day trek to eight Akha villages, participants meet the villagers, get acquainted with their tangible heritage (traditional dress, local food, cultural artefacts, village structure and local houses) and learn about their oral traditions, local knowledge and rituals as well as the local livelihood and environment (rice cultivation, forest products, livestock).
The Akha Experience grew out of a public-private partnership (PPP) between eight local village communities, an international development agency and a private tour operator. While the local villagers are rich in cultural knowledge and resources, many lack the experience and training to operate a tourism business. Therefore, the development agency, in co-operation with the local government, facilitated training and workshops, such as a tourism-awareness workshop; technical training in hospitality, cooking, hygiene, housekeeping and management; and education in English and tour guiding. The private-sector tour operator played an important role by facilitating access to the international tourism market. The package for tourists includes items and activities that directly benefit the community, such as a village development fund to which every visitor contributes; locally prepared food making use of local ingredients; a locally crafted souvenir that every visitor receives as a gift; a local forest preservation and trail maintenance fee; and various local entertainment and performance activities. A rotational system was put in place for hosting tourists in local homestays so that different villages and communities could share the work and the benefits. Yet there were challenges. While this approach achieved higher economic benefits for local community members and stronger participation in various activities, the transition from external to local control did not take place.
Enhancing linkages
Linkages and leakages are opposites in the local development of tourism. Leakages, or the amount of revenue that leaves the local economy (especially through payments for imported goods), represent a challenge. In contrast, linkages strengthen the relationship between the tourism sector at a particular place and local non-tourism industries such as agriculture, fisheries or crafts. There are prospects for linkages between food producers and the hospitality industry, based on the notion that it should be possible to enhance local food systems that supply tourist hotels and resorts in the region.
For example, Club Med resorts in Indonesia (and other emerging economies) collaborate with Agrisud, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), towards a lasting match between local supply of food products and the demand of Club Med resorts (UNWTO, 2018). The aim is to meet criteria for quality, quantity, diversity, regularity and prices, and to ensure fair remuneration for producers and a strong distribution of added value, giving the poorest groups access to these markets. The project works with very small enterprises and supports local farmers by: i) strengthening producers’ capacities in technical matters, management and organisation; and ii) establishing a sustainable local procurement system via participatory development of the procurement protocol and by grouping producers into commercial co-operatives. The role of Club Med is to support the NGO’s work financially and to buy the produce directly from the small farming enterprises. At the resorts, the source of the food on offer is highlighted to customers and excursions can be booked to the nearby farms. Such projects often raise concerns over costs of local production, irregularities in volume and quality of products, and interruptions of demand due to seasonality and unforeseeable events and crises.
Partnerships between NGOs and private tourism businesses can be highly effective to support local development and small businesses while simultaneously benefiting a large enterprise. At the same time, a strong and respectful relationship between a resort and farming groups needs to be established and developed. This includes agreement on production schedules, purchase commitments and pricing. Finally, such partnerships are also an opportunity to educate guests about eating locally and seasonally, thereby creating more awareness on sustainable production and consumption.
Moving towards higher quality is essential for increasing the value derived from tourism in the green economy (Box 4.7).
Box 4.7. Digital nomads: Shift of focus from mass tourism to sustainability
Indonesia is moving away from mass tourism in favour of ecotourism and sports tourism, as well as promoting nature and culture to tourists. Focusing on quality and sustainability marks a major shift of tourism and travel operations towards a green economy. Quality tourism with positive impacts on local communities is promoted by offering tourists products such as local food and traditional headgear in community-based tourism in 3 000 villages across the country. Moreover, travellers spending their holiday in Indonesia can offset the carbon footprint of their flights through activities like mangrove planting or waste management and by empowering local people, who benefit from tourist dollars.
Indonesia is also targeting longer-staying tourists, or “digital nomads” – people working remotely who stay a month or longer in destinations to combine work with leisure. Longer-stay tourists are better for the local economy because they tend to spend more on locally produced goods and services, which has economic multiplier effects. It also helps the environment, as increasing the availability and consumption of local products by fewer but longer-staying visitors can shorten supply chains and reduce negative environmental impacts – two critical factors for building destination resilience and sustainability.
Malaysia and Thailand are also seeking to attract longer-term tourists focused on sustainability. However, the intentions of each offer may vary (Table 4.12). For instance, the “digital nomad” visas offered by Indonesia and Thailand are targeted to medium-term investors, while the Malaysian visa offers more relaxed conditions. Visas may also vary by the length of eligibility, and the eligibility of family members to join the initial applicant in the destination country.
Table 4.12. “Digital nomad” visas in Asia
Source: Authors’ compilation from Direktorat Jenderal Imigrasi (2022), “Press release: Directorate General of Immigration officially launches second-home visa”, https://www.imigrasi.go.id/en/2022/10/25/siaran-pers-ditjen-imigrasi-resmi-luncurkan-aturan-second-home-visa/; Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (n.d), “For foreign digital nomad”, https://mdec.my/derantau/foreign/; Thailand Board of Investment (2022), “Long-term residents visa Thailand”, https://ltr.boi.go.th/.
ICT infrastructure is the most important concern for attracting digital nomads. The digital nomad lifestyle is built upon not being bound to a particular physical location for work. Digital nomads are often self-employed or are otherwise in agreement with their employers to work on a fully remote basis. This means that if wireless ICT infrastructure performs poorly or fails outright (as in the case of a disaster), digital nomads risk losing their ability to produce output and earn a living as they do not have employer offices as a last resort. Improving digitalisation within countries (which should be a top priority, as discussed in previous editions of the Outlook) will expand the geographic range where the digital nomad life is feasible.
Source: Authors’ adaptation from ADB (2021a), Sustainable Tourism after COVID-19: Insights and Recommendations for Asia and the Pacific, https://www.adb.org/publications/sustainable-tourism-after-covid-19-insights-recommendations, and Teresia (2022), “Indonesia aims to lure more digital nomads to its shores”, Reuters, https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/indonesia-aims-lure-more-digital-nomads-its-shores-2022-09-15/.
Rethinking tourism products in the green and blue economies
This section considers options for diversifying tourism by rethinking the development of beach and island tourist destinations, where mass tourism has caused damage, and analyses the advantages and challenges presented by alternative “niche” forms such as ecotourism.
Beach and island tourism
Tropical beaches and islands have long been part of Southeast Asia’s tourism identity and are still dominant in tourism development planning (Dolezal, Trupp and Bui, 2020). Alongside the perennial popularity of seaside resorts, the remoteness of island destinations has gradually been overcome. With cheaper airlines, higher incomes and longer vacations, tourism has brought new development to isolated islands. Those with advantages in terms of clean beaches, unpolluted seas, warm weather and the vestiges of distinct cultures have the potential to be turned into luxury hideaways. However, while some Asian islands have received overwhelming numbers of tourists owing to distinctive resources, most islands without unique cultural or natural attractions remain far from conventional tourist circuits.
Sustainable development of beaches and islands through tourism has proved difficult (Connell, 2020). Major challenges faced by seaside resorts and islands are outlined below.
Marginalisation of locals. Promoting tourism and finding markets has usually been the province of hotels, travel agents and national and regional tourism bodies, all of which can be remote from local people. When Kuta (Bali, Indonesia) evolved from a small village to a popular tourist destination, local people played a declining economic role as people from other provinces and international interests constructed hotels and other facilities and secured employment. But sometimes locals benefit from tourism. For instance, a recent boom has brought large numbers of weekend visitors to Tap Mun Island (Hong Kong, China), which had seen a decline of agriculture, fishing and population but is now welcoming tourists who spend money on food, souvenirs of dried fish and seaweed, and water taxis (Connell, 2020).
Leakages. Tourism stimulates development in other economic sectors, but multiplier effects are smaller on small islands where goods are more likely to be imported and where tourism exists in enclaves. All-inclusive resorts owned by international chains stress that everything is available within the resort. 40% to 85% of tourist expenditure leaves the islands, with the lowest proportion retained in the smallest islands (Connell, 2020).
Transformation of society and culture. In some contexts, tourism has contributed to a revival of material culture (traditional handicrafts, textiles, and ornaments) and visual culture (art, dance, and music), but it has also had negative consequences. On the island of Pari (Indonesia), for example, tourism has created jobs, incomes and better access to services, but it has reduced social cohesion, as competition has developed and there is less adherence to traditional customs (Kinseng et al. 2018).
Environmental change. A critical issue associated with seaside resorts and island development is inefficient understanding of the coastal environment, including coastal erosion, water supplies and waste disposal (Do and Phi, 2022). Some Asian island sites, including Boracay (Philippines) and Koh Phi Phi (Thailand), have recently been temporarily closed to tourism due to excessive environmental degradation. Other islands, such as the Tidung Islands of Indonesia, have experienced a recent decline in tourism, primarily due to ecological degradation. The islands of Phu Quoc (Viet Nam) and Koh Rong (Cambodia) appear to be following this trend (Connell, 2020). Box 4.8 presents a sustainable approach to tourism planning in fragile marine environments in Viet Nam.
Box 4.8. Integrated planning for sustainable marine tourism in Viet Nam’s Côn Ðảo islands
Côn Ðảo is a Vietnamese archipelago consisting of 16 small islands with a total area of 76 km2. Its remote and isolated location southeast of the mainland has contributed to preserving Côn Ðảo National Park, one of Viet Nam’s largest marine reserves, spanning nearly 20 000 ha, with many rare species of coral, turtles, dolphins and endangered dugongs. Côn Ðảo has 200 km of coastline, with many untouched beaches. The development of Côn Ðảo, which began with an ambitious plan to turn the island into a modern tourist economic zone in 2011, has changed to efforts to ensure a harmonious relationship between economic development and conservation of historical and cultural relics while protecting forest-sea ecosystems. Côn Ðảo’s new tourism development towards sustainability embraces the following initiatives:
Table 4.13. Côn Ðảo’s tourism development initiatives
Source: Authors’ adaptation from Do and Phi (2022), Marine and Island Tourism: Stakeholder Involvement in Policy Formulation and Implementation, https://www.cabidigitallibrary.org/doi/abs/10.1079/9781789242782.0005#core-collateral-purchase-access.
Ecotourism
Ecotourism represents a facet of the sustainable use of forest resources in which biodiversity is regarded as a product to be sold to consumers. A focus on ecotourism is warranted because it is a fast-growing product, aligning with emerging trends in tourism consumption. From the community’s perspective, income earned through direct payment for ecotourism services provides benefits and incentives to engage in biodiversity conservation. A study of ecotourism in Phuket and Bali has shown that ecotourism essentially links to the structures that are created through mass tourism and can happen in mass tourism destinations, creating a form of “mass ecotourism”, where both kinds of tourism co-exist and blur into one another (Kontogeorgopoulos, 2003). If managed properly, ecotourism can be a catalyst for environmental conservation and community development, as shown in the example of Borneo Eco Tours (Box 4.9).
Box 4.9. Increasing positive impact on the environment: Borneo Eco Tours
Borneo Eco Tours, established in 1991 in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo, was an ecotourism pioneer. Its sister property, Sukau Rainforest Lodge, built in 1995, sits on the bank of the Lower Kinabatangan River, the surrounding forest being one of Sabah’s most exceptional but sensitive and fragile environments. Borneo Eco Tours and the award-winning lodge specialise in nature and wildlife tours. They received about 11 000 visitors in 2018, and expansion of capacity is expected to be limited in the next few years. They maintain high standards as a responsible tour operator and eco-lodge by regularly consulting with experts and academics, especially on animal welfare and conservation. They continuously improve their wildlife knowledge and interpretation, as well as how they conduct wildlife tours. The training given to employees includes responsible wildlife guiding, environmental practices and hospitality skills. Their guides and in-house naturalists are knowledgeable and provide excellent service to guests.
The lodge has an interest in not only doing its best to minimise its potential harmful impact on the sensitive environment in Kinabatangan, but also in increasing its positive impact. Sukau Rainforest Lodge is constantly finding ways to ensure that the riches of Kinabatangan will continue to exist for generations to come. The lodge uses the BioSolv Treatment System, a sewage treatment process with low environmental impact. The system utilises enhanced micro-nutrient technology that shortens the overall treatment time. It has a much smaller footprint than conventional sewage treatment plants and minimises the impact of water pollution. The end product from the septic tank is compost that can be used as fertiliser for the garden plants grown at the lodge. In addition, the lodge practises rainwater harvesting, making it 100% self-reliant for fresh water. The rainwater is filtered and chlorinated for kitchen use and washing purposes. The hot water used for showers in all rooms is supplied by four Crystal Solar Heating Systems with a capacity of 300 litres. Other environment-friendly efforts include eliminating the use of plastic straws, reducing energy usage by using LED bulbs and energy-saving inverter air conditioners, using electric-powered motors for boats, composting food waste and recycling.
Borneo Eco Tours uses green and sustainable practices as guidelines for its employees. The guidelines emphasise being mindful of the environment and reducing negative impact through practices like reducing and eliminating single-use items such as plastic bags, cutlery and bottles. The guidelines aim to inspire employees to lead a more sustainable lifestyle. Borneo Eco Tours also encourages guests to bring along their own water bottles and provides free bulk water in all its vehicles so that guests can refill during tours. Employees of both Borneo Eco Tours and the lodge are given training in hygiene, health and safety, and basic first aid, as well as on guidelines for wildlife viewing. Their guides are respectful of other guides despite being competitors. As a result, the guides from different tour operators have built a good relationship and share information with one another about recent wildlife sightings.
Source: UNWTO and Guangdong Chimelong Group (2020), Sustainable Development of Wildlife Tourism in Asia and the Pacific.
One of the criteria for sustainable tourism, as defined in Box 4.1, is ensuring viable, long-term economic operations that provide socio-economic benefits to all stakeholders. In this regard, countries might consider aligning tourism finance with sustainability. This requires inclusive and sustainability-oriented governance frameworks. Strengthening co-ordination and stakeholder management will be necessary for tourism development in line with the SDGs (Box 4.10).
Box 4.10. Challenges of ecotourism funding in Viet Nam
Viet Nam has three ways of financing protected areas: Payment for Forest Environmental Services (PFES), entrance fees and payment for ecotourism services. These methods are intended to increase funding for biodiversity conservation in protected areas and to generate financial and economic incentives for local communities. However, there is dissonance in the design and implementation of the three financing options (Table 4.14). First, although all three are designed as market-based options, the government defines the payment framework, regulates the payment mechanisms, decides on the types of services, identifies the buyers and sellers, and ensures that payment occurs.
Table 4.14. Conservation funding landscape in Viet Nam
Source: Authors’ compilation from Pham and Bui (2020), “Ecotourism and sustainable development in Vietnam’s protected areas”, https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780429264191-4/ecotourism-sustainable-development-vietnam-protected-areas-pham-hong-long-huong-bui and Thuy et al. (2013), Payments for Forest Environmental Services in Vietnam: From Policy to Practice, Center for International Forestry Research, https://www.cifor.org/publications/pdf_files/OccPapers/OP-93.pdf.
Second, while ecotourism may help to reduce state budget burdens in the forestry sector, its contribution to forest protection may be limited due to issues of forest governance. Governance of entrance fees and ecotourism services in Viet Nam functions on the principles of a centrally planned economy, with fees fixed for all national parks, while the management unit for ecotourism is a state-owned organisation. Low prices for entrance tickets make ecotourism affordable for various social groups, including students and seniors, fulfilling the social objective of making natural sites accessible to all social classes. However, the low-price entrance policy conflicts with the goal of maximising revenue to ensure economic sustainability. This means that, in order to reach the target revenue planned by the government, national parks have only one option: to admit unrestricted numbers of visitors.
Source: Authors’ adaptation from Pham and Bui (2020), “Ecotourism and sustainable development in Vietnam’s protected areas”, https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780429264191-4/ecotourism-sustainable-development-vietnam-protected-areas-pham-hong-long-huong-bui and Ly and Nguyen (2017), “Application of carrying capacity management in Vietnamese national parks”, doi.org/10.1080/10941665.2017.1359194.
Tourism in the digital economy
Leveraging digitalisation
With lockdowns and severe mobility restrictions across Asia over long periods, digital technology has become ever more critical for everyday life and work. A recent report on digitalisation in six Southeast Asian countries (Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam) found that 100 million additional internet users came on line in the last three years (Google, Temasek and Bain, 2022). This rise of digital technologies creates both opportunities and challenges for consumers and businesses in hospitality and tourism.
During the pandemic, digital platforms for operating, booking and marketing, payment, services and other processes gained popularity as consumers avoided face-to-face interaction. Innovative products such as smart tourism, virtual travel and augmented reality are increasingly popular. Digitalisation can boost innovation, generate economic and environmental benefits, and increase productivity. However, it can also lead to increasing disparities between tech-driven and financially strong tourism businesses and micro and small businesses that may lack access to digital infrastructure. There are also digital divides between countries with different levels of socio-economic development.
Digital platforms
Bookings across the tourism sector are driven by technology platforms, including global distribution systems (GDS), such as Sabre, Amadeus, Galileo, and online travel agencies (OTA) that cater to independent travellers booking directly (Booking.com, TripAdvisor, Airbnb, Expedia, Travelocity). Three main business models predominate among OTAs. TripAdvisor revenues are based on advertising and a pay-per-click revenue model; Booking.com is primarily driven by a commission model; and Expedia functions as a wholesaler, mainly buying services in bulk in advance before selling them to consumers (World Bank, 2020b). OTAs are agile in responding to emerging data and shifting supply, and are faster to bounce back than traditional service providers. GDSs serve as marketplaces for travel agents to reserve air tickets, hotels and other travel services. They act as a global inventory management and reservation system. Operators are increasingly adopting online-booking technology, OTAs and GDSs to develop their product offerings (ADB, 2021a).
E-commerce and contactless payments
Increased access to the internet in Emerging Asia has facilitated the spread of internet-based technologies and services, including e-commerce and contactless payments in the tourism and hospitality industries. Electronic commerce, or e-commerce, is understood as the organisation and sale of a product or service through the internet and via information and communication technologies (ICT). Advantages include the reduction of production or service costs, 24/7 business operation, instant payment and easy access for consumers. Communication with customers is increasingly automated and combined with Artificial Intelligence (AI) via chatbots. Online travel agencies are becoming more essential in the travel industry, and during the pandemic the retail sector further incorporated digitalisation into sales channels.
Another trend is the decline of cash payments in favour of cashless and contactless payments. This type of e-commerce includes online shopping, ride hailing, food delivery and shopping at supermarkets and retail stores. E-wallets have become increasingly popular in Emerging Asia. According to Google, Temasek and Bain (2021), e-wallet usage in Southeast Asia has increased by 45% compared to before the COVID-19 pandemic, and its transaction value is projected to more than double by 2025.
Mobile devices are an on-the-go digital self-extension of individual travellers, and digital payments therefore support and enable mobility. For travellers, making a mobile payment is the last hurdle in the mobile booking experience. For travel service providers, it is a way to increase traveller satisfaction and revenue growth. Mobile payment service providers include: i) fintech firms, such as Alipay, PayPal Pay and WeChat Pay; ii) device-centric mobile-pay service providers, such as Apple Pay, Android Pay and Samsung Pay; iii) financial institution/network-instigated mobile-pay service providers, such as Capital One, Visa Checkout, UnionPay and Masterpass; and iv) merchant-centric mobile solutions, such as Dunkin’ Donuts and Starbucks.
The smartphone penetration rate is high in some Emerging Asian countries, notably Singapore, China and Malaysia. Travellers are consequently using mobile devices to pay for travel-related services, and service providers are implementing mobile payment options (WTTC, 2019). In Singapore, for instance, contactless payments grew by 15% in the first quarter of 2020 alone (ADB and UNWTO, 2021). Before the pandemic, China was already leading in the transformation of cashless payment of travel and tourism services (Box 4.11).
Box 4.11. Use of contactless mobile payment by Chinese travellers
China, the world’s biggest spender in outbound travel, also leads the trend among global travellers to pay via mobile phone when abroad. In 2017, 61.2% of mobile payment users worldwide were Chinese, with transactions via mobile payment in China totalling more than USD 12.8 trillion. Nevertheless, the most prevalent payment method among Chinese outbound travellers is still cash, followed by credit cards and mobile payment. In terms of platforms, Alipay and WeChat Pay have dominated the overseas mobile travel payment market.
A survey of 287 Chinese outbound travellers found that shopping and dining were the two most common types of travel services for which mobile payment was used, followed by accommodation, tourist attractions and flights. Convenience, speed and security are main factors driving the use of mobile payment. The most common reasons cited by non-users for avoiding mobile payment during outbound travel were that not enough merchants overseas accept mobile payments, security concerns and being accustomed to other payment methods such as cash and credit cards.
Security issues both motivate and limit the use of mobile payment during overseas travel. Some argue that mobile payment is more secure than traditional payment methods due to security features such as biometric authentication and tokenisation. Others suggest that mobile payment is prone to security risks due to the use of public Wi-Fi, lost or stolen devices, and phishing.
Figure 4.5. China’s preferred mobile payment travel destinations and services
Note: Travel destination ranking determined by the proportion of Chinese tourists that used mobile payment in a specific country in 2019. Services ranked based on 3 100 respondents from mainland China between October 2020 and June 2021.
Source: OECD Development centre based on Nielsen Holdings (2019), 2019 New Trends for Mobile Payment in Chinese Outbound Tourism and Statista (2021), “China’s most popular digital payment options”.
Source: Authors’ adaptation from WTTC (2019), Mobile Payments in Travel and Tourism – Unlocking the Potential.
Geographic location of digital services
Amid fierce worldwide competition to host digital services, Emerging Asia remains a global leader. Kearney’s 2019 Global Services Location Index ranks 50 countries across four main categories: financial attractiveness; people skills and availability; business environment; and digital resonance, including digital skills and legal adaptability (Kearney, 2019). India, with its depth and breadth of English-speaking skilled labour, remains at the top of the list. As of 2018 it hosted more than 1 140 global in-house captive centres, allowing almost half of the top 500 global companies to work in India. China holds second place in the index, followed by Malaysia, Indonesia, Viet Nam, the United States and Thailand.
Meanwhile, digital trade is on the rise in Southeast Asia. The Philippines has established itself as an IT-BPO hub, and Indonesia and Thailand are well on their way to joining the Philippines in that space. Indonesia and Viet Nam are regional leaders in e-commerce and app, while some other ASEAN countries may need some additional efforts to improve basic internet use and specific e-commerce implementation. Indonesia and Viet Nam have also become leaders in app development, which will eventually provide positive spillovers for the rest of Emerging Asia (ADB, 2021b).
Youth and social media
As in the rest of the world, young people in Emerging Asia are highly engaged in social media. Generation Z has shifted on line to work, study, relax and socialise, perhaps more effortlessly than any other generation, and their cultural influence is reshaping traditional beliefs about online travel, entertainment, shopping, news and education (ADB and UNWTO, 2022). A Google survey of Gen Zers in Southeast Asia and India found that 74% had bought products online using social media and shopping apps (Google, 2020). The survey also found that digital wallets have quickly become the preferred method of managing money over credit cards, with apps that help track spending.
Promotion of destinations through social media can strengthen an emotional connection among travellers, destinations and local communities, and initiatives are taking shape to tap into the youth market via social media. For instance, the Mekong Tourism Co-ordination Office initiated a multi-country marketing campaign, #MekongMoments, where businesses encouraged customers to share their experiences via social media using the #MekongMoments hashtag (Destination Mekong, 2022). This user-generated content was shown on MekongMoments.com, directing traffic to the respective websites of the tourism businesses (ADB, 2021a).
In a post-pandemic survey on responsible travelling in the Asia-Pacific region, The Economist reported differences in the way different age groups view the uses of technology (Economist Group, 2022). According to the report, younger travellers see digital tools as benefiting local people, while older travellers see them as means of accessing information for themselves.
Automation and smart tourism
Businesses are increasingly using automated services and robots to replace humans in carrying out mundane tasks in a trend triggered by high labour costs, a decline of workers willing to take jobs in the labour-intensive hospitality and service industry, and increasing demand for contactless services. China has the world’s fasted growing service robot sector, with more than 25% of the international market share. It is also expected that 50 million workers in China will be displaced or impacted by robotics technology (Moore, 2021).
Intelligent service robots can be used at restaurants, hotels, airports or shops. Such interactive robots are enhanced with artificial intelligence and designed to deliver on-the-site answers to questions (Tussyadiah, 2020). Robot “concierges”, for example, can suggest interesting tourist attractions. The Chinese company Keenon Robotics is present in more than 500 cities in China and 60 countries worldwide. It specialises in contactless delivery and robotic servers, including food delivery robots and robot maids in hotels. The units cost around USD 8 000, making the technology increasingly affordable for smaller businesses (Moore, 2021).
Smart tourism is based on digital technologies connecting consumers with tourism businesses such as hotels, restaurants or destinations. The Internet of Things (IoT), in which objects are fitted with sensors, software and other technologies, plays an important role. When connected to the internet, “things” such as an air-conditioner or TV in a hotel room can exchange real-time data with other connected devices such as smartphones or other systems. In smart hotel rooms, travellers can sync and share data across various devices during their stay. In China, hotel facial-recognition check-in and AI smart rooms had already been piloted before the pandemic. The international hotel chains Marriott and Intercontinental collaborated with China’s Alibaba and Baidu technology firms. According to the hotel group, the facial-recognition technology can cut the check-in process from three minutes to less than one minute (Chan, 2018). Facial-recognition technologies have also been introduced at airports and airlines for faster identification and boarding. Such systems are already in place at the Malaysian national carrier Malaysia Airlines, low-cost carrier AirAsia, and at airports in China, Hong Kong (China), India and Singapore. While the technology is increasingly embraced in many parts of Asia, critics have raised the alarm about data security and how governments could use the collected data.
Virtual travel
Virtual reality and augmented reality have grown in importance since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Virtual reality (VR) refers to computer-created environments that simulate or mirror seemingly realistic experiences. The technology currently provides sensory immersion focusing on audio and visual stimuli and some haptic (touch) interfaces. VR-based activities that use headsets offer the user an immersion experience in a 3-D space. In a virtual reality setting, people can move about as they do in the real world, and the computer-generated environment maintains the illusion of being elsewhere. VR technology thus allows users to visit geographic locations virtually or to experience social settings to which they would normally not have access. Augmented reality (AR) is a type of interactive, reality-based environment that uses computer-generated display, sound, text and effects to enhance the user’s real-world experience. Virtual experiences are used by businesses and destination-marketing organisations to promote tourism products and destinations. They can also have educational purposes and offer insights into a place or destination before the actual visit.
For example, the Malaysia-based LokaLocal website (https://www.lokalocal.com/) implemented VR features during the pandemic and now offers immersive virtual and 360-degree experiences across Southeast Asia, including tourist attractions, museums, restaurants, real estate and e-commerce. Another example is Singapore-based Vizzio Technologies, which created a VR digital twin of the city-state of Singapore. In China, live streaming of tourism sites became a trend during the pandemic. Many travel agencies, tourist destinations and individuals started live broadcasting from tourist attractions via social media platforms such as TikTok, WeChat and Weibo. In a study conducted in China during the pandemic, 90% of respondents expressed interested continuing to use virtual tourism even once the pandemic had ended and travel restrictions were lifted (Lu and Xu, 2021). Their primary motivations for using virtual tourism were to gain a preview of the destination before a visit, to pay a virtual visit to destinations that are usually not accessible to them (due to constraints related to time, money or geographical accessibility), and to experience a new technology.
AR is also increasingly found in the tourism and hospitality industry as a travel assistant to guide tourists through complex public transport systems and museums or other tourist attractions in real time. AR applications enable tourists to learn about destinations and attractions through the camera viewfinder functionality of their mobile device. As the device identifies the environment, the application marks places of interest and importance and provides information about it. Such applications are increasingly found in museums, other cultural attractions and urban tourist destinations across Emerging Asia. Another area where AR is becoming an important technology is food service, where such technologies can support operational efficiency and increase productivity.
Digitalisation and microbusinesses
Advances in transport, mobility, communications and technology have given rise to a “new tourism subculture” in which tourists rely less on large-scale travel agencies but prefer to use products and services directly from local tourism microentrepreneurs (Morais, 2021). Digital platforms can create direct links between tourism microentrepreneurs and discerning travellers, leading to economic benefits for the entrepreneurs. Such platforms can create more opportunities for tourism microentrepreneurs to choose how they want to be represented in promotional materials and to inform tourists about the meaning, value and sociocultural attributes of their products and services, such as agricultural methods, food, handicrafts or cultural performances. In this way, tourism can empower Asian microbusinesses and communities to be innovative, self-determined and entrepreneurial in a sustainable way.
However, there is a lack of information in Emerging Asia on the links between tourism microentrepreneurs, travellers and other tourism stakeholders. It is thus vital to understand what motivates and hinders tourism microentrepreneurship so that adequate training and policy intervention can be developed to facilitate success.
An interesting collaboration between small tourism businesses and academia is North Carolina State University’s “People-First Tourism” (p1t) initiative (https://peoplefirsttourism.com/), a global network of academic tourism programmes which seeks to make travel more local and sustainable and supports the digitalisation of tourism businesses, especially SMEs (Morais et al., 2017). Researchers work closely with them to develop online profiles for tourist products and experiences, including some where tourists can participate actively, such as cooking classes. The experiences are promoted through local networks of vetted participants, including educational institutions. The p1t initiative also helps develop itineraries for visitors to maximise the value of their time in each region.
The rise of tourism, hospitality and business schools within Asian universities presents opportunities for collaboration between academia and small businesses with the aim of creating knowledge and tourism products and services. While universities benefit from opportunities to conduct research with and about small businesses, SME owners receive training, support and guidance in developing and marketing their products, and obtain access to online promotional platforms.
Addressing challenges to digitalisation
Leveraging digitalisation requires advanced technology, specialised skills and strong legal and institutional frameworks. These are lacking in many countries in Emerging Asia. The region also suffers from a digital divide in its ability to deal with data and statistics for tourism, at a time when data sharing and transparency raise complex legal and technical issues.
Cybersecurity
Cybersecurity is becoming increasingly significant, particularly with the acceleration of digital adoption and with digital identities and digitised health information becoming more mainstream. These shifts will require governments to protect traveller data while encouraging businesses to be proactive in implementing cybersecurity measures and guidelines, including using biometric-related technologies to reduce cyber risks (WTTC and Microsoft, 2022). Travel service providers are concerned about privacy leaks and payment fraud. Cybercrime and data breaches pose an increasing security threat to individuals and destinations, especially those lacking ICT skills (ADB and UNWTO, 2021). Greater use of big data will create vast volumes of data on every aspect of life and the economy, raising questions of privacy and surveillance. Safeguarding sensitive and personal information requires skills and technical infrastructure that many destinations lack (ADB and UNWTO, 2021).
Hotels process large amounts of personal information, making them prime targets for cybercriminals, who operate on a global and borderless scale. Sophisticated cyberattacks can infiltrate several channels of the tourism sector, including hotel Wi-Fi networks, online booking services and other customer touchpoints (Accenture, 2020). In 2018, almost 514 million hotel data records were stolen and lost worldwide (CyberSmart, 2021). Another vulnerable target within the tourism industry is the aviation sector. A ransomware attack on the India-based airline SpiceJet in May 2022 left hundreds of passengers stranded at various airports across India (SpiceJet, 2022). Software technology providers that operate passenger processing systems have also been affected. In 2021, Singapore Airlines reported that passenger data on 580 000 of its frequent flyers had been compromised in an attack on the Société Internationale de Télécommunications Aéronautiques (SITA), a large information technology (IT) company that provides IT services to the air transport industry (Asian Aviation, 2021).
Measuring ICT readiness
A recent report by the World Economic Forum on digitalisation in Emerging Asia covers not only the existence of modern physical infrastructure (e.g. mobile network coverage and electricity supply), but also the degree to which digital platforms are used for travel and tourism (WEF, 2022). WEF (2021) measures ICT readiness including the development and use of ICT infrastructure, and digital services (Table 4.15). In terms of overall ICT readiness, Singapore and China top the list, at 6.0 and 5.8, respectively, on a scale of 1-7. Malaysia, Thailand and Viet Nam are catching up, scoring above 5.0. Indonesia, the Philippines and India are gaining on them, while Lao PDR, at 3.3, scores below the regional average.
Table 4.15. ICT readiness in selected countries of Emerging Asia
Source: Authors’ compilation from WEF (2021), Travel & Tourism Competitive Index (dataset), https://www.weforum.org/reports/travel-and-tourism-development-index-2021/downloads-510eb47e12.
Kearney (2019) ranks countries by their investment in cybersecurity as a percentage of GDP against a Digital Evolution Index, which is calculated from 108 digitalisation indicators and ranges from 1.50 to 3.75. Under this ranking system, countries in Emerging Asia fall into three categories:
Nascent: India, China, Viet Nam, Indonesia, Philippines and Thailand (<0.10% of GDP spent on cybersecurity, and Digital Evolution Index <2.75)
Tipping point: Malaysia (0.05-0.20% of GDP spent on cybersecurity, and Digital Evolution Index <3.25)
Fortified: Singapore (0.10-0.30% GDP spent on cybersecurity and Digital Evolution Index <3.75).
Research by Google, Temasek and Bain (2021) further focuses analysis on six countries in Southeast Asia within the three categories identified by Kearney. The six countries – Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam – had 440 million internet users in 2021. Among them, 350 million digital consumers made at least one purchase online. The study found that 60 million new digital consumers had been added to the internet economy since the pandemic started. It reveals that online travel booking grew by only 5% in 2020-21, to USD 13 billion, mainly due to travel restrictions and uncertainty. At the time of the research, domestic flights had recovered to 50% of pre-pandemic levels, though international flights remained 95% down. However, 36% growth is expected in this sector, reaching the gross merchant value (GMV) of USD 43 billion by 2025. The performance of significant Southeast Asian digital economies is shown in Table 4.16.
Table 4.16. Southeast Asia’s digital economies
Note: GMV = gross merchant value.
Source: Authors’ compilation from data of Google, Temasek and Bain (2021), e-Conomy SEA 2021: Roaring 20s: The SEA Digital Decade, https://services.google.com/fh/files/misc/e_conomy_sea_2021_report.pdf.
Gaps in technical skills and the need for digital training
The WEF’s Future of Jobs Report 2020 indicates that skills gaps in local labour markets have been the main barrier to adopting new technologies (WEF, 2020). At a time when the digital economy is rapidly evolving, education systems are not adapting at the same pace. In Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)’s Closing the Digital Skills Gap survey, conducted in 2019, 75% of respondents – employers, government officials and academics – reported a significant skills mismatch (APEC, 2019). Survey respondents felt that the curricula at many academic institutions did not sufficiently bring digital skills into classrooms, and that government agencies had a weak understanding of the digital skills landscape.
This skills gap cannot be resolved in the short run and requires major investment in education and training (ADB and UNWTO, 2021). As a result of the digital skills shortage, governments are competing with private-sector organisations, both domestically and globally, to recruit and retain professionals from an increasingly tightening ICT talent pool. For instance, Thailand established a Government Big Data Institute to train its first 1 000 government officers in big data skills in 2020. However, retention of these staffers could prove difficult, as qualified candidates can expect a 25-30% average salary increase when switching to the private sector. This difficulty will become more acute as Thailand 4.0 deepens and more private-sector ICT roles become available (ADB and UNWTO, 2021).
In tourism and hospitality, future jobs are needed in data analytics and digitalisation (OECD, 2020). Currently, many businesses cannot invest in employee training or employ digital experts. They thus depend on external expertise, which can be expensive. To respond to the rapid evolution of digital skills, the approach is to focus on training. Without more upskilling programmes to improve digital expertise, many workers may lose their jobs to automation (APEC, 2019). Thus, it is necessary to reskill tourism employees to interact with digital resources and adapt to different customer service requirements.
Working with big data in tourism requires a range of ICT and non-ICT skills, such as business analysis and project management skills. Market research and digital marketing skills are important domains of expertise. Statistics and ICT skills comprise knowledge on official tourism statistics, data science, computer programming, database management, big-data analysis, visualisation and machine learning. These skills can maximise the potential of big data for business impact.
There is digital divide in Emerging Asia between underconnected economies and those with advanced digital development. In addition, many experts argue that digital growth favours individual consumers and large firms, not MSMEs. Digital skills training therefore needs to reach everyone, including micro and small businesses – from farmers and home-based handicrafts producers to small-scale hotels, restaurants and shops – as well as underserved and vulnerable communities, including women, the unemployed, rural communities with weak access to digital resources and low-skilled migrant workers.
As digital skills differ across countries and age and socio-economic groups, tailored programmes for different levels and competencies need to be offered. Such programmes as “Go Digital ASEAN” aim to close the digital gap by educating people from rural regions and underserved communities. In 2020-21, the programme exceeded its target by training more than 225 000 individuals across the region, 60% of whom were women (Asia Foundation, 2022). In one initiative, the programme taught a microentrepreneur in Lao PDR to use mobile-phone digital maps to share a location pin with delivery drivers instead of giving directions via phone conversations. The microentrepreneur also received basic training in online marketing via social media and e-commerce platforms. With a new social media site and the skills to pinpoint locations for delivery drivers, her ease of doing business improved significantly.
Given the current digital context, governments need to implement further training for tourism and hospitality professionals and microentrepreneurs. In order to reach remote and or underserved communities in Emerging Asia, a balance between national and local strategies is needed. It is crucial to create access for small and micro businesses, especially in partnership with local organisations that can provide training at accessible times and locations, and offer local trainers follow-up support.
In more centralised areas where internet access is widespread and inclusive, governments, in collaboration with educational institutions and industry, can provide training in high-demand digital skills via online courses. To be inclusive, such digital learning experiences or skills portals should be available in different languages to be accessible to the different ethnic and migrant groups within a country, especially in countries with a large foreign worker population in hospitality and tourism, such as Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore. Online training has the advantage of providing greater flexibility and being more cost effective than in-person training. Yet there is also a need for supported training courses that use real-world, scenario-based exercises, labs and coursework to build skills and workforce opportunities for the unemployed or underemployed people (Raj, 2022).
Basic digital skills such as the use of operating systems, software for communication and presentation, and social media are already required in all subsectors. More specialised skills, such as computer programming, artificial intelligence and robotics, will require high levels of training to be utilised fruitfully in tourism organisations and businesses. Different sectors within the tourism and hospitality industry will require different digital skill sets in the near future. In the accommodation sector, the use of mobile devices and apps is already in place for facilitating check-in and check-out procedures and controlling in-room devices. Future skills will need to focus on cybersecurity (developing and implementing protocols for digital ethics and security), domotics (hotel automation) and biometrics (especially for guest identification and access to various hotel services). The food and beverage sectors have experienced a large shift towards online delivery, with the appearance of mobile apps supporting these processes. Knowledge of payment systems and online security are needed, as well as marketing and customer interaction skills.
Tourism data and statistics
With the emergence of digital travel platforms on which consumers engage in online searches and book travel and related services, enormous datasets (“big data”) are being compiled (World Bank, 2020b). Big data consists of large, diverse, structured and unstructured datasets of information generated and transmitted by organisations, people and machines. Tourism-specific data are derived from tourism operators, online travel sites and social media, as well as global distribution systems like Amadeus, while non-tourism-specific big data are generated from telecommunications, financial services, retail geospatial data and health data. Technology giants such as Google and Facebook also collect substantial data on consumer travel habits and businesses (ADB and UNWTO, 2021).
Big data can track a visitor’s digital footprint. In the current intensively data-driven world, the digital footprint left by travellers is widely employed in many sectors, with the aim of improving competitiveness and, to a lesser extent, supporting sustainable approaches. In tourism, the use of big data has seven main purposes (UNWTO, 2021):
Tracking and monitoring visitor flows
Profiling visitors
Measuring visitor satisfaction and sentiment
Measuring visitor expenditure
Promoting visitor engagement
Prediction of visitor behaviour
Use of big data for tourism resources.
Big data can be used to complement traditional government statistics and fill in tourism data gaps, as the case of Indonesia (Box 4.12). The experience of Culture Trip underlines the role of big data in identifying consumption patterns and predicting behaviour in cultural tourism. Culture Trip is a platform that promotes tourist destinations by using stories (Table 4.17). Culture Trip makes use of big data to provide customers with the destinations most suited to their needs and wants. Their big data can also help tourist service providers by advising them of the specific features and amenities required to attract tourists (UNWTO, 2021).
Box 4.12. Mobile positioning data supplements tourism statistics in Indonesia
The geographical structure of Indonesia, the world’s largest archipelago, poses challenges for accurately measuring population inflows and outflows due to the country’s many entry and exit points on sea and on land. Indonesia maintains checkpoints at airports, sea and land borders that record entry and exit numbers. It also uses periodic cross-border surveys to account for travellers seeping in and out of the country, but these surveys are costly and insufficiently accurate (Lestari et al., 2018).
As a solution, Indonesia began using mobile positioning data (MPD) in 2016 to fill data gaps associated with international arrivals, outbound travel and domestic tourism. Statistics Indonesia entered a commercial relationship with Positium, an Estonian company that specialises in positioning data for official statistics (OECD, 2022). While cross-border surveys were previously completed once a year in the more remote regions of the country, positioning data has allowed the production of monthly reports (Lestari et al., 2018).
MPD statistics differ significantly from previous reports. For example, the data show the share of tourists from neighbouring countries hovering around 30% instead of the 7% measured using traditional methods. From Timor-Leste alone, 100 000 monthly travellers were observed using MPD (Positium, 2019). However, as MPD techniques are in their infancy, proper calibration of the models to estimate tourism flows remains a challenge, especially when comparing yearly trends. But as the methodology improves, the data quality will improve and help generate more conclusive results for timely policy purposes.
MPD is one of the latest tools in the use of big data for tourism. As Statistics Indonesia demonstrates, partnerships with emerging data providers such as Positium can allow countries to supplement traditional government statistics. Going forward, partnerships will become increasingly important to generate data solutions for pressing tourism challenges, such as measuring the impact of tourism on the environment and shielding the tourism industry from the effects of a pandemic.
Source: OECD (2022), Tourism Trends and Policies 2022; Lestari et al. (2018), “Indonesia’s experience of using signaling mobile positioning data for official tourism statistics”; Positium (2019), “Helping Indonesia measure tourism and achieve sustainable development goals”, Mobile Positioning Data (MPD) Case Study.
Table 4.17. Ecotourism destinations recommended by Culture Trip
Source: Authors’ adaptation from Thrussell (2022), “The best locations for an eco-adventure”, https://theculturetrip.com/europe/articles/the-best-locations-for-an-eco-adventure/.
Although the emergence of a greater variety of digital channels and big data helps policy makers adopt a multifaceted approach to analysing the tourism industry, cross-country comparisons remain challenging. The main issue is the lack of standardised methods for collecting tourism data. Given our growing understanding of the importance of data-driven policy making and business management, greater data comparability would yield benefits for policy makers and the tourism industry alike. Although the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) provides useful aggregate data at the country level, there is little or no evidence of standardised metrics (Lam and Mckercher, 2013). ASEAN economies would benefit strongly from adopting a standardised approach to measuring tourism. This would provide better understanding of the industry and foster healthy regional competitiveness.
The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated digitalisation and the use of big data, as national and regional governments seek to achieve better understanding of the effects of the pandemic and associated responses on traveller movements and habits, and to support safe and sustainable recovery by helping businesses to develop better and smarter products and services. In partnership with online travel agents and telecommunications and financial services companies, governments around the world are tapping big data to formulate and implement tourism-related policies. An example is an initiative to improve marketing strategies in Singapore (Box 4.13).
Box 4.13. Singapore’s use of big data to relaunch tourism
Singapore’s government is leveraging on technology and its big data infrastructure to roll out its recovery plan for the tourism sector. Singapore Tourism Board (STB) launched the Singapore Tourism Analytics Network for Stan, a data analytics platform to view visualisations and perform analysis on tourism-related data, aggregated from STB and the industry, to derive actionable insights about the Singapore tourism landscape in 2020. It aims at building analytics capability among the tourism stakeholders by empowering them through extending data for use through data visualisation and data marketplace that is API-enabled. Tourism data partners can tap on the tools within Stan, such as Private Space and Sandbox to analyse data, and facilitate data sharing and collaboration to derive insights. Stan currently has more than 400 tourism companies on board.
As part of building analytics capabilities, STB rolled out programmes to catalyse industry data transformation. These included the Data Analytics Shift (DASH) Programme, a data capability upskilling initiative for tourism stakeholders and the Data Transformation Programme (DTP) to enable the co-creation of industry use cases through data sharing and adoption of data analytics to accelerate business recovery and growth at both industry and enterprise level.
In July 2020, “SingapoRediscovers”, the country’s largest ever domestic marketing campaign, was launched during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, to encourage locals to explore Singapore’s local offerings and drive footfall and spending in support of tourism and lifestyle businesses. As a further incentivisation, the STB worked with various Authorised Booking Partners (i.e. Changi Recommends, GlobalTix, Traveloka, Trip.com and Klook) on the SingapoRediscovers Vouchers (SRV) scheme which was introduced as part of the campaign in December 2020, and which granted Singaporean Citizens aged 18 years and over a SGD 100 digital voucher to encourage spending on attractions, hotels and tours. Citizens could log in and secure vouchers via their Singapore Personal Access (SingPass) account. These initiatives remained important throughout 2021 as a combination of quarantine requirements for foreigners and ongoing restrictions on gatherings led to a shift in tourist spending habits (Figure 4.6). SingPass is a digital platform that allows easy and secure online transactions with more than 60 government agencies. It provides secure authentication for the distribution of SRV to Singapore citizens. For longer-term recovery, the STB signed a three-year memorandum of understanding with the online travel agency Trip.com to market Singapore as a destination of choice to strategic source markets.
In September 2020, STB announced a three-year partnership with Visa focusing on joint research and analytics, as well as marketing partnerships, to address the needs of Singapore’s small and medium-sized enterprises in the tourism sector.
Figure 4.6. Components of tourism receipts (Year-to-Date), quarterly, quarter-end
Source: Authors’ adaptation from Singapore Department of Statistics (n.d.), “Tourism Receipts by Major components (Year-to-Date)”, https://tablebuilder.singstat.gov.sg/table/TS/M550371.
Box Source: Authors’ adaptation from ADB and UNWTO (2021), Big Data for Better Tourism Policy, Management, and Sustainable Recovery from COVID-19, https://www.adb.org/publications/big-data-tourism-policy-management-recovery-covid-19, and national sources.
Big data is also being used to generate or complement tourism statistics. The combination of big data and statistics facilitates the implementation of Tourism Satellite Account (TSA), a statistical framework that is the main tool for the economic measurement of tourism, and that would be beneficial for economies in Emerging Asia. Australia demonstrates its global leadership in the use of big data in official statistics by promoting partnerships between statistical agencies, research institutions and data agencies (Box 4.14).
Box 4.14. Australia’s use of big data in official tourism statistics
Tourism Research Australia and the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) are jointly responsible for official tourism statistics. Tourism Research Australia (TRA) collects tourism data via quarterly national and international visitor surveys, while the statistics bureau provides data on tourism’s contribution to the economy for annual Tourism Satellite Accounts (TSA). The ABS’s Big Data Flagship Project centralises data for researchers. In 2017, TRA enlisted a private sector firm to identify data gaps. Movement data was the primary gap identified and, since that time, the TRA has given consideration to using anonymised mobile phone data, but that has yet to come to fruition.
Figure 4.7. Australia’s Big Data Flagship Project
Source: Authors’ adaptation from ADB and UNWTO (2021) Big Data for Better Tourism Policy, Management, and Sustainable Recovery from COVID-19, https://www.adb.org/publications/big-data-tourism-policy-management-recovery-covid-19.
Regulations and policies
Digital payment is an area where technology development is moving far faster than the development of regulations and policies. Moreover, different countries have different regulatory policies on digital payments, as well as on tourist spending and taxes (WTTC, 2019). In addition, policy changes can affect the mobile-related operational costs of travel service providers. These and other challenges need to be dealt with in a co-ordinated fashion by Emerging Asian policy makers moving forward.
Governments across the region should continue to support digital technology through investments in broadband, smartphone use and app development for sustainability, health, education and business. Governments should also seek training for small businesses, youth and women to help them adapt to technological innovations.
Incentives for tourism businesses to adopt new technology can improve their operational efficiency. For example, a shift toward digitally self-guided tourism does not require group travel and is therefore consistent with physical distancing norms, which may persist for an extended period. As more tourism-related transactions go digital, it will be vital for SMEs to accelerate integrating digital capabilities into their businesses. As touchless technology and automation become more prominent, tourism workers will face challenges such as job losses or emotional isolation, while visitors may experience feelings of loneliness and lack of connection to destination. These implications need to be managed carefully (World Bank, 2020b).
Although official statistics are reliable and trusted at the national level, aggregating the data to regional and international levels is difficult due to a lack of consistent data frameworks for their compilation. Each country uses its own definition and methods of data collection, featuring the unique socio-economic conditions of the country. For instance, India’s data on international inbound tourists shows a large proportion of “other” travellers who cannot be identified as international or domestic tourists. There are also problems in defining and collecting data from domestic tourists who do not stay in commercial accommodations.
A common framework and method to harmonise tourism data needs to be agreed upon and promoted. Countries in Emerging Asia may gradually move towards data harmonisation under the UNWTO’s forthcoming “Statistical Framework for Measuring the Sustainability of Tourism”. The framework is an organising structure for integrating statistics on the economic, environmental and social dimensions of sustainable tourism. It provides a structure for the most relevant data and indicators, and supports harmonised data production focused on international comparability (ADB and UNWTO, 2021). The forthcoming framework aims to link up with the Tourism Satellite Account (TSA) framework. It is recognised by the UN Statistical Commission as the primary tool to evaluate the contribution of tourism to the Sustainable Development Goals.
Conclusion
The COVID-19 pandemic damaged the travel and tourism industry but also transformed it. There are ways to reshape the way tourism operates through more responsible and sustainable approaches. However, striking a balance between the various pillars of sustainable development remains challenging. Policy challenges will need to be addressed to adjust to the quickly and constantly evolving environment within which travel and tourism operate. First, tourism is moving towards deeper integration with the green and blue economies. It is thus important to anticipate market demand and to shift tourism supply towards enhancing sustainability for better integration into the green and blue economies. Second, the digital economy is increasingly important in the tourism sector. Accelerating the adoption of digital technology is recommended for the travel and tourism industry. Finally, although each country faces particular challenges and opportunities, policy makers might consider sharing their experiences and furthering regional co-operation towards sustainable recovery of tourism and travel.
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