Behind Asian tourism’s success story: Risk and marketing
Global tourism’s centre of gravity has shifted to Asia. But how do Asian destinations maintain their spectacular growth amidst natural disasters, pandemics, and geopolitical instability?
Dr David Beirman and Dr Jeff Wilks reveal the strategies behind the region’s resilience in their upcoming book, Risk and Tourism Marketing in Asia. And Bernie Rosenbloom shares key findings from his chapter on Laos.
It’s a “Good Tourism” Insight.
Hotspots
In recent years, global tourism’s centre of gravity has inexorably shifted from Europe and North America to Asia. Since 2015, China has emerged as the world’s leading generator of outbound tourism.
In 2025, over 140 million Chinese travelled internationally, representing 10% of the 1.4 billion international travellers globally.
Apart from the period from early 2020 to early 2023, when global tourism almost ground to a halt during the COVID-19 pandemic, tourism has made a spectacular recovery. This has certainly been the case in Asia.
Today China, Japan, Thailand, South Korea, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, India, and Cambodia rank among the hotspots of global tourism.
Our soon-to-be-released book, Risk and Tourism Marketing in Asia, explains the reasons behind Asian tourism’s success, despite many Asian countries having to overcome a range of risks and challenges during the first quarter of this century.
The role of transnational organisations
The active involvement of transnational tourism organisations — including United Nations (UN) Tourism, the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Tourism, and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Tourism — has been a significant factor in Asia’s tourism growth.
These associations have engendered growing professionalism in the Asian travel industry and supported collaborative marketing among Asian countries.
ASEAN Tourism has emulated the European Union in easing cross-border travel within Southeast Asia. In addition to helping each country market its own unique attributes, ASEAN Tourism, PATA, and APEC have actively sought to market Asian destinations as regional hubs to long-haul source markets such as Europe, the Americas, and Australasia.
Integrating risk management into marketing
A key topic covered in our book is how Asian destinations have integrated risk management into their destination marketing.
Despite the allure of Asia’s scenic, cultural, natural, culinary, shopping, and historical attractions, all Asian countries face a range of threats. These include natural disasters, pandemics (such as SARS and COVID-19), civil and political unrest, terrorism, crime, economic shocks, environmental threats, technological failures, and the threat of war.
The book explains how the 18 Asian countries covered, and the transnational bodies supporting them, manage risk at both the proactive (preventative) and reactive (recovery) dimensions. It details how they effectively market themselves despite known and unexpected crises.
To illustrate, the Maldives is an exceedingly attractive marine destination. However, as a low-lying archipelago, it is highly vulnerable to sea-level changes, storms, and sea surges. Marketing the Maldives requires that tourists are advised on how to respond to likely threats — such as tsunamis — and that resorts have preventative measures in place.
A case study: Laos
Bernie Rosenbloom outlines the key findings of his chapter on Laos:
Laos earnestly entered global tourism in 1999, establishing the Lao National Tourism Administration with an ecotourism strategy focused on sustainably developing its natural, cultural, and historical assets. However, a chronic lack of funding forced the country to rely on transnational organisations like the Asian Development Bank for infrastructure and marketing support.
Marketing endeavours, including several ‘Visit Laos Year’ campaigns, have evolved in line with national strategy. Research underpinning the ‘Simply Beautiful’ brand identified unique selling points, but limited budgets kept brand awareness minimal. Consequently, the private sector has shouldered much of the marketing burden.
Despite these challenges, visitor numbers have consistently outperformed forecasts. From 737,208 arrivals in 2000, numbers climbed to 4.12 million visitors in 2024, spending more than US$1 billion.
While the effectiveness of government marketing remains questionable due to funding dependence, Laos has demonstrated that a principled ecotourism destination can rebound from serial crises — including the pandemic and economic downturns — while the private sector continues to rely on its own resilience.
Themes of resilience and recovery
Beyond specific case studies like Laos, our book explores the broader friction between Western perceptions of risk and Asian realities.
One critical area of discussion is the impact of government travel advisories. Many Asian nations have long expressed concern about the accuracy and currency of advisories issued by Western countries, arguing that outdated warnings unfairly hamper marketing efforts.
Conversely, the book highlights the economic power of China’s Approved Destination Status (ADS). For many Asian neighbours, securing and maintaining this status is a vital component of their national economy, determining which countries are approved for lucrative Chinese group travel.
The 18 destination chapters — covering Indonesia and Sri Lanka to Japan and South Korea — reveal how distinct local strategies are used to overcome reputational damage.
- Vietnam: The phenomenon of ‘kitsch tourism’ has surged, enabling domestic tourists to visit replica French chateaux without leaving the country; a domestic buffer against international downturns.
- Nepal: The country has had to repeatedly restore its reputation as a tourism-friendly destination following the destructive 2015 earthquake and multiple outbreaks of civil and political unrest, including those in September 2025.
An optimistic outlook
Despite the challenges discussed, a sense of optimism permeates the Asian tourism sector.
In 2025, these countries are expected to welcome over 300 million international tourists, while domestic tourism booms. Sectors once considered minor in Asia, such as cruising, are enjoying spectacular post-COVID growth. The marketing of Asia has shifted from ‘shopover stopovers’ to the promotion of sophisticated, compelling experiences.
In the foreword to our book, PATA Chairman Peter Semone expresses confidence that Asia will be the global centre of tourism over the next decade. The book’s release on February 18, 2026 coincides with PATA’s 75th anniversary.
Learn more about Risk and Tourism Marketing in Asia.
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About the authors
David Beirman is Adjunct Fellow at the University of Technology Sydney and co-Chair of the Tourism Risk, Crisis and Recovery Special Interest group of the Council of Australasian University Tourism and Hospitality Educators. In his specialist field of tourism, risk, crisis and recovery management, Dr Beirman is widely published and has keynoted conferences in over 20 countries.
David is a member of PATA’s Tourism Rapid Response Taskforce. He has a close working relationship with the UN World Tourism Organisation and is a foundation member of the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s Smartraveller Consultative Group which advises on government travel advisories and measures to advance tourism safety and security. He is also a board member of the Australian Travel Careers Council.
Jeff Wilks is a qualified lawyer and psychologist specialising in travel health, safety, and wellbeing. Having grown up in Papua New Guinea, Jeff’s early training was in cross-cultural psychology, which earned him a PhD from the University of Queensland, Australia and confirmed a love of travel. Dr Wilks has led risk management programs internationally, spoken at ministerial meetings and industry forums, and authored seven tourism safety books.
An active marine safety practitioner and scuba diving instructor, in 2003 Jeff was awarded an International Life Saving Federation Citation of Merit for his contribution to risk management and beach safety. In 2017 he was awarded a Commonwealth Diploma by the Royal Life Saving Society (UK) for his contributions to water safety and drowning prevention.
A long-term resident of Laos, Bernie Rosenbloom brings decades of experience in copywriting and journalism to the Lao travel & tourism trade.
Bernie is founder and Managing Director of Bernco-Laos Communications whose clients have included the UN World Tourism Organization, Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office, International Trade Centre, United Nations Industrial Development Organization, New Zealand-Lao CBT-SED, Asian Development Bank-Laos Sustainable Tourism Development Project, among a host of businesses and private-sector organisations.
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Behind Asian tourism’s success story: Risk and marketing. Image by Gemini. “GT” added the words.
