Trends in Asia‐Pacific tourism in 1997‐98: from optimism to uncertainty

Abstract

In 1997‐98, a series of stochastic events in the Asia‐Pacific region contributed to the end of a long period of tourism growth and 1998 saw contractions in tourist numbers in several countries of the region. Extensive forest fires in Kalimantan and Sumatra prompted cancellation of many visits to the East Asia region, even to destinations unaffected by the resulting widespread havoc. The Chinese take‐over of Hong Kong had severe ramifications for tourist visitation to the former British territory, with heavy discounting evident in attempts to sustain tourist visitation. Subsequently, from July 1997, the most serious impacts began with the currency collapse in Thailand, the beginning of what is now referred to as the Asian Economic Crisis, affecting many countries in East Asia. Indonesia has been the most severely affected. Escalating economic and political crises there have seen the virtual cessation of inbound tourism outside Bali. Then the coup d’état in Cambodia effectively halted visitation to what had been the region’s second fastest growing destination country. Against all these factors, an era of growth has turned into a period of contraction, which is now presenting challenges for managers, investors and policy‐makers interested in tourism across the Asia‐Pacific region.

Asian Financial Crisis, Avian Flu and Terrorist Threats: Are Shocks to Malaysian Tourist Arrivals Permanent or Transitory?

“…Several studies have suggested that the Asian financial crisis had a negative effect on the shortterm viability of tourism in East Asia (Leiper & Hing, 1998;Pine et al, 1998;Prideaux, 1999;de Sausmarez, 2003). Malaysia was one of the worst affected countries in the region.…”

The perceived impact of risks on travel decisions

“…With a few exceptional situations, rational travellers do not travel for the sake of taking risk, and prior studies have therefore shown that the tourism industry is very vulnerable to direct or indirect events -commonly known as crises -that may threaten the safety of visitors (Mäser and Weiermair, 1998;Sönmez, 1998;Seddighi et al, 2001; Pacific Asia Travel Association, 2003). Leiper and Hing (1998), as well as Leggat and Klein (2001), have stated that during crises, visitors are swiftly unsettled and become largely dependent on the destinations and the host communities for support. On the basis of their econometric analyses, Levantis and Gani (2000) showed the negative relationship between demand for tourism and the number of law and order problems.…”

“…Among the nine entries in Table 6, seven showed a significant difference with higher perceived values by Asian travellers than Western travellers. Since many disasters had occurred in Asia in the past several years (Leiper and Hing, 1998;Wilks and Moore, 2003;Pine and McKercher, 2004), travellers from Asia could be more conscious about risks and their magnitude of threat than Western travellers. Interestingly, Asian travellers perceived all types of risks significantly higher than Western travellers in the dimension of efficacy of official media.…”

Drivers of international tourism demand in Africa

“…For example, Leiper and Hing (1998) find that the Asian financial crisis and outbreaks of forest fires have negative effects on Malaysia's international tourism. Additionally, Tan et al (2002) find that the Asian financial crisis and the gulf war have negative effects on international tourism in Indonesia.…”