DURING the last couple of decades, the number of travellers visiting South-East Asia has increased by 10% every year on average.
The number increased from 40 million in 2001 to 143.6 million in 2019. The tourism sector's rapid growth has made a substantial contribution to the economies of the region.
In 2019, Asean nations' tourism income totalled US$392bil, up roughly by US$180bil since 2011.
Nonetheless, as every coin has two sides, tourism development too has its drawbacks. With the influx of funds comes threats such as increased pollution, degraded environments and cultural shifts.
The impressions of investors, tourism companies and tourists can be found all over the gorgeous beaches, unexplored forests and breezy passes of South-East Asian nations. From the beaches to the foothills and on mountains, resorts and inns are springing up, causing issues such as deforestation and littering.
With the favourable rise in visitor arrivals, regional officials have underlined their commitment towards infusing earnings with ecotourism promotion – one of the major aspects of the Asean Tourism Marketing Strategy 2017-2020.
Ecotourism is described by The International Ecotourism Society as "responsible travel to natural regions which safeguards the environment, supports the welfare of native people, and encompasses education and interpretation".
This type of travel is possible because of a global network of individuals, organisations and the tourism sector, wherein travellers and tourism specialists are educated on environmental concerns.
After renowned tourist spots like Phuket (Thailand), Langkawi (Malaysia), Bali (Indonesia), and Boracay (the Philippines) were impacted by pollution and overcrowding, causing damage to their once pure environments, Asean tourism authorities met at the 22nd Asean Tourism Ministers Meeting during the Asean Tourism Forum (AFT) and decided to come up with measures to combat issues like over-tourism.
China's "Vision and Action” on Jointly Constructing the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road was announced in 2015. It is a programmatic strategy document which lays out the roadmap for the Belt and Road initiative's development and recommends ways to boost tourism collaborations.
For the ecotourism sector, it improves internal regional coordination and encourages the growth of local ecotourism. Furthermore, it accelerates the pace of overseas tourism cooperation, fast-tracks tourism opening, and draws international travellers to Asean destinations. Hence, it can aid the growth of the ecotourism sector along the route.
The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has the potential to have a versatile impact on the Asean ecotourism economy along the channel.
First and foremost, there are policy incentives. The Asean countries on the route will opt for the BRI to raise ecotourism investments in the area and encourage tourism supply, which is expected to have a substantial effect on ecotourism product enrichment and industrial setup optimisation.
The second goal is to improve transportation. Aspects like transportation infrastructure have an impact on the agglomeration and dissemination of the local ecotourism economy, and it is also one of the most important issues in the transformation and advancement of the ecotourism sector, as well as the enhancement of quality and pace.
The BRI deployment has enhanced transportation infrastructure in Asean countries along the route, resulting in a greater geographical impact of ecotourism specialisation.
The third step is to encourage the flow of ecotourism production components. The BRI can bolster ecotourism collaboration in the policy-executed region, encourage the utilisation and flow of economic aspects, improve the ecotourism sector’s efficacy, enhance the utilisation efficacy of means of ecotourism, and synchronise provincial tourism development.
Simultaneously, the BRI strategy will encourage foreign travellers to visit Asean in a variety of ways, potentially boosting ecotourism development in the areas on the route.
The first aspect is policy interoperability. BRI participating nations will develop a more practical collaboration, harmonisation and effective policy support structure. The synchronisation of ecotourism-oriented policies can help link travellers and tourist destinations to encourage travelling and mutual appreciation.
This includes visa-friendly rules that make it easier for tourists to arrive and mutual acknowledgement of industry norms. This will contribute to the growth of top-class ecotourism.
The second point is unrestricted trade. Customs support for the exchange of information, mutual acknowledgement of supervision, and law enforcement support in nations on the route broadens trade opportunities and improves trade setups.
These factors raise demand for technologies, materials and resources in local regions along with the Belt and Road, thus endorsing the improvement of local industrial structure, a favourable industrial atmosphere for ecotourism growth, and a considerable rise in corporate ecotourism and other sources.
Then, there is monetary support. The removal of trade and investment obstacles, diversification of funding and investment channels of domestic areas on the route, greater convenience of inbound tourism, effective flow of capital elements across sectors, proper capital settlement of the participating nations, and factor support for top-grade tourism growth are some examples.
The fourth point is cultural communication. The creation of cultural initiatives and events in nations along the route offers a communication platform for the growth of tourism, thus reducing travellers' psychological distance.
Local exhibition tourism, festival tourism and other new sectors are aided by ecotourism collaboration, sports activities and other ventures. A well-balanced and approachable cultural ecology and public opinion culture are essential for the growth of Belt and Road ecotourism.
To summarise, one of the BRI’s goals is to publicise the opening up of the area and conduct deeper collaboration and exchange with global communities.
The strategy's execution has aided ecotourism collaboration among the nations on the route, enabling Asean's own distinctive cultural, historical and natural landscapes to draw travellers from all over the globe.
The BRI aims to make cities where the policy is executed more tourist-friendly while also ensuring the sustainable growth of ecotourism in Asean areas, maximising local potential.
Dr Lin Woon Leong is a senior lecturer at Taylor’s University, Malaysia. The views expressed here are entirely the writer’s own.
The SEARCH Scholar Series is a social responsibility programme jointly organised by the South-East Asia Research Centre for Humanities (SEARCH) and the Centre of Business and Policy Research, Tunku Abdul Rahman University College (TAR UC), and co-organised by the Association of Belt and Road Malaysia.
