Southeast Asia is often seen as a lucrative business market due to its richness in nature and biodiversity, diverse cultures and people as well as affordable travel expenses. While its history and modern-day politics can be complex at times, it is generally safe for tourists to travel around.

Nevertheless, given the effect of globalization and the burgeoning of tourism and hospitality activities, it has inevitably had a significant impact on the environment, economy, social development, and community well-being. In addition to issues which are commonly known in tourism, such as carbon footprint and mismanagement of overcrowding in a destination, the concerns also include intricate conundrums, such as animal and human exploitation for entertainment as well as tourism projects motivated by power play. 

Responsible tourism is germane to the countries in Southeast Asia because it aims to benefit the local community, create employment opportunities, preserve cultures, protect environment and sustain economic growth, which in turn, improves the quality of life and the betterment of the society.

This region has long been regarded as economically dynamic due to its rising populations and market opportunities to many developed countries. Despite the importance of various tourism aspects, such as smart tourism, event tourism and ecotourism, the sense of responsibility of each and every stakeholder is what is largely needed to develop, recover, sustain and regenerate tourism in Southeast Asia.

Source: An Outlook on Responsible Tourism in Southeast Asia

https://jrtm.org/volume2-issue1-january-2022/