Hot beaches, cool cities. Tourism and Economic Development in South-East Asia.

International tourism is booming across South-East Asia with rapid growth rates and more than 93 million international arrivals in 2013 (UN WTO, 2014). Long-established destinations such as Thailand and Indonesia face growing competition from new destinations such as Vietnam, Cambodia and, most recently, Myanmar. As a region, South-East Asia hosts a great variety of tourism forms, from luxury, high-end resorts to backpackers and independent travellers and specialist eco-tourism and homestays.

This paper explores the rise of international tourism from its earliest days in the colonial period through the overland 'hippy trail' to the emergence of modern mass tourism and integrated resorts. The paper then discusses the main socio-economic impacts of the rapid growth of tourism in the region and highlights key sectors such as ecotourism, conventional mass tourism and the growth of regional and domestic tourism. The paper ends by considering the future of tourism in South-East Asia.