Every now and then, something lands on the travel desk that isn’t trying to sell a destination, a route launch or the latest airline lounge. Instead, it explains why some parts of the world keep bouncing back faster than the rest.
That’s the territory covered by Risk and Tourism Marketing in Asia, a new Routledge title edited by long-time tourism academics David Beirman and Jeff Wilks, officially releasing worldwide on 18 February 2026.
And if you’ve spent the past few years watching Asia quietly reclaim its swagger, the timing couldn’t be sharper.
The 420-page volume pulls together insights from 49 contributors across 18 countries, no small feat, and zeroes in on something the industry tends to talk about only after things go wrong: how destinations build resilience before the crisis hits.
Because make no mistake, Asia didn’t simply “recover” from COVID. It recalibrated.
The book examines how destinations from Japan and Singapore to Sri Lanka and Nepal have integrated destination marketing with practical risk management, not as separate disciplines, but as two sides of the same coin. The result is a region that now feels increasingly comfortable wearing the mantle as the world’s tourism growth engine.
For Australians, that shift is hardly theoretical. More than seven million of us travelled to Asia in 2025, part of a broader surge that saw global arrivals into the region hit around 320 million. Europe still holds its cultural cachet, but the centre of gravity is drifting east slowly, then suddenly.
What makes the book compelling isn’t the data, though there’s plenty of it, but the framing. It looks at how Asian destinations have learned to market themselves while navigating a world that refuses to behave. Climate shocks, overtourism, geopolitical tremors, and natural disasters are treated less as disruptions and more as operating conditions.
And that mindset shift matters.
Rather than retreating after the pandemic, many Asian tourism boards doubled down on preparedness. Recovery plans weren’t dusted off in a hurry; they were already embedded. Marketing strategies evolved to reflect that reality, blending aspirational storytelling with an almost pragmatic understanding that volatility is now permanent.
The foreword by PATA chairman Peter Semone adds further industry heft, reinforcing what many in the trade already suspect: Asia’s advantage lies in its adaptability.
The book’s official launch is scheduled for Hong Kong on 23 March, hosted by the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce, with both in-person and online attendance options. Contributors from across the region are expected to join. Registration details are available via the chamber website:
https://www.chamber.org.hk/web/edm_html/L260323NL.html.
Closer to home, Beirman will brief Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Canberra on release day, before a more community-style presentation at Tamworth Regional Library in mid-March, a reminder that tourism thinking doesn’t just live in capital cities.
Importantly, this isn’t a book written solely for academics. Students will find it useful, certainly, but the real audience is broader: policymakers trying to future-proof visitor economies, tourism boards recalibrating brand strategy, and industry professionals who’ve realised that resilience is no longer a buzzword, it’s a business model.
There’s also an undercurrent running through the chapters that feels particularly relevant right now. Asia isn’t just rebuilding; it’s redefining what recovery looks like. Experiences are being reshaped to feel more intentional, less crowded, and more considered, all while acknowledging that the next disruption is never far away.
If Europe once set the tone for global travel, Asia increasingly writes the tempo. This book doesn’t declare that shift outright, but it makes a persuasive case that the industry is already living it.
For anyone trying to make sense of where travel is heading, not just where it’s been, that’s a conversation worth having.
Book details:
https://www.routledge.com/risk-and-tourism-marketing-in-asia/beirman-wilks/p/book/9781032904870.
by Christine Nguyen – (c) 2026.
Read time: 3 minutes.
About the Writer.
Christine’s story is one of quiet courage, told without fuss and lived with remarkable grace. She arrived in Australia as a young refugee from Vietnam, carrying little more than hope, family, and a curiosity that refused to be extinguished. Sydney became home, built patiently, brick by careful brick.
She studied Tourism at TAFE and soon found her place in inbound travel, working with one of the city’s leading destination companies. Christine loved showing visitors the Australia that lives beyond postcards, warmer, truer, and far more interesting.
When the sea began to whisper, and life asked for a gentler rhythm, she listened. Designing brochures, writing blogs, she discovered storytelling waiting quietly inside her.
Today, at Global Travel Media, Christine writes with warmth and wisdom, reminding us, softly and persuasively, why travel still matters.
