Diversity in Asian outbound travel industries: a comparison between Indonesia, Thailand, Taiwan, South Korea and Japan

Abstract

Though East Asia is the fastest growing outbound region in the world (World Tourism Organization, 1993; Tourism trends to the Year 2000 and beyond), little is known about the structure of its outbound tourism industries or the characteristics of its travellers (with the possible exception of Japan). Instead, as evidenced in the case of many Australian tourism operators, there is a tendency to use the Japanese tourist as benchmark for dealing with other Asian visitors. In order to contribute to a better understanding of the emerging Asian outbound markets, a five-country study tour was undertaken in October and November 1995 to explore the nature and structure of the outbound industries in South Korea, Taiwan, Indonesia, Thailand and Japan. The study involved interviews with leading outbound agents, local NTO and airline representatives, travel media, government tourism policy-makers and travel industry associations.