East Asia is a major tourism region with countries like China, Japan, and South Korea receiving hundreds of millions of visitors annually. Tourism was impacted in 2011 by natural disasters in Japan but grew in other countries like South Korea and Macau. China has become the third most visited country and continues to see strong growth in tourism arrivals and as a source market for outbound travel. Other countries in the region like Hong Kong, Taiwan, North and South Korea, Mongolia, and Tibet each have their own unique tourism offerings and challenges.

1. Tourism in East Asia
TDM 458
Ara Pachmayer

3. Major Geographic Qualities of East
Asia
 World’s most populous region
 One of the world’s culture hearths
 Political and economic forces continue to
transform traditional cultural landscapes
 Intensifying regional disparities

4. Tourism Statistics and Trends
 2011 - International arrivals down
 Aftermath of Japan Earthquake, Tsunami
• Fewer international arrivals
• Japanese not traveling (impacts region)
 South Korea - 11% up
 Hong Kong - 11% up
 Macau - 8% up

5. Statistics
Country Arrivals (Millions) Receipts
(Billions of $)
China 57.6 48.5
Hong Kong 22.3 27.7
South Korea 9.8 12.3
Japan(-27.8%) 6.2 11
Taiwan 6.0 11.0

6. Asia’s Established Destinations
 Hong Kong
 Economic (trade, business) hub, slowly
recovering from British transfer to China
 Japan
 Religious heritage, natural landscapes,
decline in tourism after Earthquake and
Tsunami

7. Eye on China
 Has the most potential in Asia; mystic and fascination
by westerners; Political and economic liberalization
 3rd most visited country in the world!
 10% growth in tourism arrivals in 2008, a result of
Olympics
 Macau - China’s territory
 Concentrates on casinos that contribute 50% of its
revenue, largest gambling industry in world in terms
of profits
 Venetian, Wynn, Sands Resorts
 China as a source market

8. People’s Republic of China
 Largest population in the world with 1.3 B
 1/5 of all mankind are Chinese!
 Land area of China slightly larger than the US
 Major player in world politics, permanent
member of the UN Security Council
 Dominant culture in East Asia, influencing
religion, art, philosophy and culture
 One of the world’s oldest continuous
civilizations
 Communist government
 Strict political control, free market areas

9. Deng Xiaoping Era
 Took power in 1979
 Attempted to wed communist political rule with capitalist
economic practice
 Socialist market economy
 Introduced economic liberalization measures
 Opened China to foreign science and technology
 Permitted students to study abroad
 Allowed for the tourism economy
 Decentralized decision making (economics)
 Created SEZs, open cities, open coastal areas

10. Special Economic Zones
 Investor incentives
 Easing of import and export regulations
 Simplified land leases
 Hiring of contract labor permitted
 Products may be sold in foreign markets and in
China (under certain restrictions)
 Location was prime consideration

11.  China’s
Economic
Zones

12. Tourism in China
 Inbound tourism…rapid growth (though slower than 2010)
 Outbound tourism…
 Rapidly growing # of Chinese tourists
 Some of the biggest spenders (3rd overall in 2011 +32%)
increase in tourism expenditures
 Countries should prepare for Chinese tourists
 Australia - Chinese visitors increase by 17%
 Approved Destination Status
 Culture, heritage, nature
 Hong Kong and Macau

13. Some of the Main Tourist Attractions
 Beijing - Reflective of Old China
 Tianamen Square, Great Wall, Forbidden City
 Beijing Olympic sites
 Shanghai
 City of Future
 High Tech, Highly Developed, High Industry
 Special Economic Zone, (capitalism bubble within
Communist state)
 Hong Kong and Macau
 Tibet

14. Infrastructure
 International Airports
 Domestic Airlines network
 Freeway system
 Increasing accommodation styles and
pricing
 Increased number of trained hospitality
workers
 Tibet pressurized Railway

15. Hong Kong
 Excellent deep water port
 7 million people in 400 square miles
 Economy is larger than half of the world's countries
 July 1, 1999 British transferred control to China
 Acquired a new status as China’s only Special
Administrative Region (SAR)

16. Hong Kong Tourism
 Shopping
 Culture
 Business and Conferences
 Heritage

17. Tibet
 A harsh physical environment
 Sparsely populated
 Came under Chinese control in 1720
 Gained separate status in the late 19th century
 China’s communist regime took control in the
1950’s
 Buddhism, the Dalai Lama and monasteries
 Formally annexed in 1965 and administered as an
autonomous region

18. Tibet tourism
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_W-
Hwp1-wc&feature=channel_page

19. Taiwan

20. Taiwan
 Historical background:
 A Chinese province for centuries
 Colonized by Japan in 1895
 Returned to China > WWII
 1949 – Chinese Nationalists (supported by the US)
fled from the mainland and established the Republic
of China (ROC)
 Territory - approximately 14,000 Square miles
 Population – 22.8 million
 78% urbanized

21. Tourism in Taiwan
 Largest number of visitors from Mainland
China
 Tourism is characterized by
 Parks
 Trails
 Culture
 Gambling
• Limited to outer islands
• controversial

22. Japan

23. Japan
 Historical Background
 Japan is the richest country in East Asia
 Isolated from rest of the world until arrival of
Commodore Perry in 1850’s
 After initially opposing modernization and
development, Japan under Meiji emperor promoting
economic growth and development
 Rapid economic growth in 19th and 20th C
 Democratic development of Japan into 1920’s then
rise of militarism that led to WW II
 Dramatic post-war economic growth in Asia

24. Position of Japan
 Japan stands above the rest of Asia in the area
of tourism expenditure
 Japanese as source market - Huge!
 The Japanese spent about $27 billion (2011)
(but still behind China)
 Decrease from 2010 due to Earthquake and
Tsunami
 Reduced number of outbound tourists

25. Tourism in Japan
 Vibrant, Technologically advanced cities
 Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka
 Value on Tradition, Culture, old-ways
 Can be seen in social
interactions, architecture, restaurants, traditional tea
houses, food, geisha’s, etc
 Heritage Sites,Temples
 Natural Landscapes
 Population concentrated in urban areas leaving space
 Mt. Fuji, Skiing, Country side, Beaches in South
 WWII
 Other Factors
 Cost
 Transportation model

26. Japan’s Aging Population and Impact on
Economy and Tourism

27. The Koreas

28.  The size of Idaho but with a population of
73 million
 Turbulent political history
 A dependency of China
 A colony of Japan
 Divided along the 38th parallel by Allied
Powers > WW II (1945)
 Cease-fire line established in 1953
The Koreas

29. North-South Contrasts
 North Korea
 55% of the land, 1/3 of the population, extremely rural
 Antiquated state enterprises
 Inefficient, non-productive agriculture
 Limited trade – former Soviet Union and China
 South Korea
 45% of the land, 2/3s of the population, highly urbanized
 Modern factories
 Intensive, increasingly mechanized agriculture
 Extensive trade – US, Japan, and Western Europe

30. The Koreas
 Population 24.5 million 48 million
 GNP (billions) $28 $1014
 GNI/capita $1,800 $20,800

31. Tourism in North Korea
 Strict communist state
 No FIT
 Designated areas only
 Only recently for South Koreans and
Americans
 DMZ

32. Tourism in South Korea
 Shopping
 VFR
 Rural areas
 Temples, heritage sites
 DMZ

33. Visitors by country of Origin (2010)

35. Mongolia
 Steppe and desert physical environment
 Sparsely populated with about 2.6 million
inhabitants
 Part of the Chinese empire from late 1600’s
until 1911
 Functions as a buffer state
 Economy is focused on herding and animal
products

36. Mongolia Tourism
 Yurts
 Nomadic lifestyles
 National parks
 Deserts
 Paleontology
 Communist legacy, heritage