KLRI : KOREA LEGISLATION RESEARCH INSTITUTE

Tourism is one of the key drivers of the global economy, having significant contribution to the global GDP and trade. Without a doubt, it is important for national economy. Not only does it generate revenue, but it also creates a large amount of jobs, especially for women and small businesses. The tourism industry is, for many countries, a major source of foreign exchange earnings and accounts for a large portion of exports. It may not be an exaggeration to describe the tourism sector as the backbone of national economy for many.

  

With its abundant cultural and historic heritage, Asia has attracted international tourists and has been one of the top destinations to visit. A number of Asian countries have enjoyed the revenue being generated in the tourism sector and have relied greatly on it for its national employment.

  

The COVID-19 pandemic, however, dealt a significant blow to the tourism industry around the world. One statistic shows the world lost over 50 percent of contribution of the tourism sector to its GDP in 2020 alone which was right after the pandemic broke out. Travel restrictions stopped the global movement and the influx of both international and domestic tourists, so did the economic benefits that it would have brought into. Countries have suffered a soaring unemployment rate and the collapse of small and medium-sized enterprises which flourished at the peak of tourism.

  

This significant impact on the tourism industry by the COVID-19 pandemic are well described and analyzed in this research Re-Blooming of Tourism in Asia: Legislation and Policy for Tourism Industry. The research was proposed and mobilized by Korea Legislation Research Institute (KLRI), the secretariat of Asia Legal Information Network(ALIN). ALIN is a collaborative research platform with 37 members of law schools and legislative research institutions in 20 Asian countries. It has carried out joint research with its members on various subjects of common interest including legislation and policy on contagious diseases and on green vehicles in Asia.

  

In this research, the authors of fourteen countries wrote the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their tourism sector and the changes that the pandemic has brought to their laws and policies concerning tourism. We see the pandemic solely as a negative event, but surprisingly, many Asian countries rather took it as a chance of revising and upgrading their legislation and policies on the tourism industry. Readers may find it interesting to see the tireless efforts of the fourteen countries to overcome the aftermath of the pandemic and to revive their tourism industry. I appreciate all authors for their valuable work and the contributors for their efforts to get this research published.

I. Prologue

 

II. Re-Blooming of Tourism in Asia:

Part Ⅰ Southeast Asia

Cambodia

Sothea Seng, Chamroeurn Moeurng, Tong Ly

Indonesia

Andy Omara

Laos

Sypha Chanthavong

Malaysia

Nur Khalidah Dahlan, Jady Zaidi Hassim, Ramalinggam Rajamanickam,

Mohd Zamre Mohd Zahir

Philippines

Alzedney M. Ditucalan, Audrey Michelle C. Kwan

Vietnam

Tien Duc Nguyen

Part Ⅱ East Asia

China

Alexandr Svetlicinii

Japan

Aziz Ismatov

Korea

Seung-Jong Kim

Part Ⅲ South Asia

Bangladesh

Rahmat Ullah

India

S. Sivakumar, Salman Qasmi

Nepal

Rishikesh Wagle, Shiva Kumar Giri

Part Ⅳ Central Asia

Kazakhstan

Sarsembayev Marat Aldangorovch, Sarpekov Ramazan Kumarbekovich

Russia

Olga I. Miroshnichenko

 

III. Epilogue