TOURISM CRISES AND REGIONALIZATION IN SOUTHEAST ASIA

Abstract

Globalization and regionalization are dominant trends in the world’s economy as they stimulate economic integration and new forms of cooperation which affect the operation of the tourism industry. The emergence of growth triangles and development corridors, within the context of regionalization, is part of the governments’ efforts to pursue certain broad economic objectives in one specific sub-region. This concept is also apparent in place marketing as the strategic alliances that are formed promote a set of countries, or parts of them, as single destinations. This paper, based on secondary data, seeks to examine whether tourism crises have had any effect on economic complementarities, comparative advantage and competitiveness of sub-region destinations in Southeast Asia. Although regionalism appears viable for many governments, this paper argues there are various constraints in operation and difficulties to overcome in terms of their contribution to tourism, especially when this region has often been struck by many crises of different types and magnitude in the past two decades. Thus, it seems timely to review existing mechanisms and consider whether they have a continued role in tourism expansion in the region.