The socio-economic impacts of Singaporean cross-border tourism in Malaysia and Indonesia

Cross-border tourism is often proposed by governments as an incentive for economic growth, but critics have suggested that its impacts are, in fact, overplayed. This paper

presents research in the Indonesia-Malaysia-Singapore Growth Triangle. It presents a study of Singaporean cross-border tourism to its neighbours and discusses its

economic impacts in two locations: Kukup, a traditional fishing village in Malaysia; and Bintan island in Indonesia. The project examined the broad economic impacts of cross-border tourism on local host communities and given the lack of substantive research on this, examined employment, local ownership and economic linkages and

leakages. The study found that cross-border tourism generated income, employment and some local economic linkages. Kukup had clear economic benefits with increased

income and employment, but benefits were unevenly distributed between ethnic groups. The Bintan enclave had some linkages to the island economy but was reliant

on immigrant labour. In both cases cross-border ethnic ties, specifically Chinese, also played an important role in the growth of cross-border tourism in the Indonesia-

Malaysia-Singapore Growth Triangle The paper shows that cross-border tourism can be a useful addition to more conventional forms of international tourism within national tourism planning and could lead to significant economic benefits for local communities.