Rethinking tourism in asia

Abstract

Recent years have witnessed a seemingly relentless surge in the movement of tourists “of Asian origin”. It is confidently predicted that over the coming decades Asia will have one of the fastest growing tourist populations in the world. Despite such forecasts, tourism in Asia by Asian tourists has received little attention to date. This paper sets out to redress this imbalance by examining recent developments at the World Heritage Site of Angkor, Cambodia. It argues that Western-focused policies have inadequately restrained an explosion in facility construction principally aimed at a tourism market from Northeast Asia. The various implications arising from this situation are examined.