Tourism is most commonly understood as people travelling for leisure and recreation. International tourists from a visiting country consume services such as hotels and restaurants, travel agencies, and tourist guides’ services, which become export earnings in the recipient country. International tourist inflows thus lead to international trade in services, with interlinkages to domestic and external sectors of an economy.
The sector is highly relevant for services trade in Asia and the Pacific economies, contributing 31% of the region’s services exports and 6% of its overall export of goods and services in 2019. Indeed, it offers huge potential for export earnings through its direct and indirect linkages to other sectors.
However, tourism was among the worst-hit sectors in Asia and Pacific by COVID-19. In economies heavily dependent on tourism services as an export-earning sector—such as Maldives (90% of services exports), Cambodia (60%), Thailand (45%), and Fiji (37%)—the pandemic was calamitous. It slashed export earnings and jobs. And even as economies such as Maldives quickly rebounded through appropriate policy interventions, the severity of the downturn raised questions about the tourism sector’s resilience to shocks and its sustainability.
This study examines tourism as an export-earning sector in Asia and the Pacific. It identifies domestic and trade policy interventions that will help economies build resilience in tourism for greater competitiveness, enhancing the sector’s export earnings. It thus investigates the following research questions:
Tourism is most commonly understood as people travelling for leisure and recreation. International tourists from a visiting country consume services such as hotels and restaurants, travel agencies, and tourist guides’ services, which become export earnings in the recipient country. International tourist inflows thus lead to international trade in services, with interlinkages to domestic and external sectors of an economy.
The sector is highly relevant for services trade in Asia and the Pacific economies, contributing 31% of the region’s services exports and 6% of its overall export of goods and services in 2019. Indeed, it offers huge potential for export earnings through its direct and indirect linkages to other sectors.
However, tourism was among the worst-hit sectors in Asia and Pacific by COVID-19. In economies heavily dependent on tourism services as an export-earning sector—such as Maldives (90% of services exports), Cambodia (60%), Thailand (45%), and Fiji (37%)—the pandemic was calamitous. It slashed export earnings and jobs. And even as economies such as Maldives quickly rebounded through appropriate policy interventions, the severity of the downturn raised questions about the tourism sector’s resilience to shocks and its sustainability.
This study examines tourism as an export-earning sector in Asia and the Pacific. It identifies domestic and trade policy interventions that will help economies build resilience in tourism for greater competitiveness, enhancing the sector’s export earnings. It thus investigates the following research questions:
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