Conclusion: Prospects for tourism in Southeast and South Asia in the new Millennium

The chapters in this book by no means represent a complete assessment of tourism in Asia. Moreover, they present only a partial analysis of probably the most diverse and dynamic tourism region in the world, in spite of the impact of the Asian economic crisis. Whilst recent texts (e.g. Hitchcock et al., 1993; Hall, 1994, 1997; Go and Jenkins, 1997) present a disparate range of themes and country studies of tourism with respect to Asia and the Pacific Rim, no other text to date has sought to examine the themes and issues facing both Southeast and South Asia in a systematic manner. The tendency in the Western tourism literature has been to focus on Southeast Asia and ASEAN member countries and to neglect South Asia. Yet, as the chapters within this book undeniably show, there are complex interrelationships which exist in terms of the tourism markets, regions and activities within Southeast and South Asia. International visitors to both Southeast and South Asia often visit a range of destinations. Furthermore, neighbouring Asian countries often provide major tourism markets for each other. This is reflected in the complex web of airline routes that exist in Southeast and South Asia which are intraregional in nature, often short-or mediumhaul cross-border trips. For example, the growth of the Indian and the Chinese middle class has substantial implications for intraregional travel. What is also consistently overlooked in the tourism literature is the growing domestic tourism market in Asian countries, despite most national tourism organizations emphasizing inbound tourism because of the economic benefits it brings. But in some cases (e.g. Sri Lanka and Malaysia), tourism authorities have also tried to use domestic tourism as a substitute for a decline in international visitor arrivals.