亚开行-旅游业作为服务出口：现状、脆弱性和建设韧性（英）-2023.12-92页_1mb

Tourism as Services Export: Current State, Vulnerabilities, and Building Resilience

Summary

This report analyzes tourism in Asia and the Pacific as a services export industry, assesses its vulnerability to external shocks, and recommends policies to enhance resilience. The region's tourism exports contributed 31% of services exports in 2019, with varying impacts across subregions. While small island economies (e.g., Maldives, Fiji) rely heavily on tourism for export earnings, larger economies (e.g., Australia, China) have more diversified economic structures.

The COVID-19 pandemic severely impacted tourism exports, with a dramatic decline from $486 billion in 2019 to $99.4 billion in 2021. The Pacific subregion was hit hardest, nearly losing all tourism exports, while East Asia and Southeast Asia saw substantial but lower declines. Even economies with lower pre-pandemic tourism dependence experienced significant export losses, indicating vulnerabilities beyond high dependence alone.

Key policy recommendations focus on:

1. Enhancing tourism infrastructure investment
2. Developing alternative and virtual tourism destinations
3. Implementing easier visa policies and procedures
4. Investing in tourism workforce development and digital technologies
5. Strengthening regional cooperation and intraregional investment
6. Diversifying sources of international tourists through targeted marketing

These measures aim to build tourism's resilience against future crises while maximizing its export potential.