ABSTRACT

This chapter considers the main features and key trends of tourism in the countries of East Asia, an area of geographic, cultural and economic contrast. East Asia is encompassed by countries at varying stages of development and, away from the more established tourist destinations, the infrastructure for tourism is of a comparatively low standard. Many countries are remedying the situation and developing an inbound tourism industry as a source of foreign exchange and to provide jobs. Although the region is remote from the major tourist-generating countries of Europe and North America, improvements in air infrastructure are overcoming the friction of distance. Both international and domestic business travel are important throughout the region, and shopping is a major motivation, particularly for travel to Singapore and Hong Kong. Cultural tourism is of primary importance as a resource here, and the region has much to offer in the way of historic cities, temples and landscapes – although Western expectations of authenticity are not always a primary concern. The climate favours winter sun beach tourism and adventure travel and ecotourism plays an increasingly major role. Most countries in the region have national parks but more needs to be done to protect natural resources and wildlife from pollution and excessive development. Domestic tourism in many countries of the region is now as significant as international tourism, and outbound tourism is also growing, particularly from the established market of Japan and the new market of China. Once the ‘sleeping giant’ of the region, China has become a major economic player on the world stage and a significant force in global tourism.

In this chapter, the nature of tourism resources and the methods used to classify and evaluate them are discussed. A consideration of the key factors favouring the development of tourism resources, and subsequently the evolution of destinations, will lead to an appreciation of the need for tourism planning, marketing and sustainable development. At the world scale, both physical and cultural features are key factors influencing tourism development and it will be seen that specific types of recreation and tourism can be matched to the appropriate resources. Attractive coastlines, mountains and lakes – the most popular locations for recreation and tourism – are valuable tourism resources but culturally developed resources are considered by society to be of economic value as well. The world pattern of supply of tourism resources is by its nature uneven; resources are usually shared with other users and are both fragile and perishable. As countries realize the negative impacts of tourism, so planning to safeguard these resources has become vital. It will be seen that planning aims to minimize the costs of tourism and to maintain the integrity of the resource base. At the national scale, classifications of tourist attractions which include the whole resource base are useful. Evaluations of the potential of the resource base to satisfy tourist’s demands allow possible future areas for recreation and tourism to be identified. These evaluations can then be applied at the local scale to resort developments with their distinctive morphology and mix of service functions. Within this context, the cycle of resort development is considered.