Rebuilding tourism in Asia-Pacific: A more conscious traveller?
This report by Economist Impact, and sponsored by Airbnb, explores the recovery of tourism in the Asia-Pacific region. It looks at ways in which travel could change with the rise of the conscious traveller. The report is based on extensive desk research and a survey of more than 4,500 travellers from across the region.
Overtourism—when a certain destination becomes too crowded with visitors, leading to a cascade of other problems—was a strong concern even before the pandemic. It is something travellers are thinking about. The survey shows that more than half (57.6%) of respondents say it’s important that their travel does not contribute to overtourism, but the issue is of special concern among travellers from Thailand (66.3%), Taiwan (63.9%) and South Korea (63.1%).
Ecological concerns and covid-19 policies have played a major role in contributing to the mindset changes being witnessed. Possibly self-reflection too. Randy Durband, GSTC CEO, says “during the pandemic, all of our lives changed, and our thought processes changed. We’ve had time to reflect on the big picture. There’s been a lot of soul searching, and travel has been a part of this.”
Download the full report by Economist Impact: Rebuilding tourism in Asia-Pacific: A more conscious traveller? written by Siddharth Poddar and edited by Pratima Singh.
