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There is an old saying in tourism that every destination wants the neighbour’s tourists, preferably without the neighbour.

Unfortunately for parts of Asia and the Pacific, that mindset is beginning to look about as modern as a fax machine at a tech summit.

As fresh geopolitical tensions unsettle aviation routes, dampen traveller confidence and send airline accountants reaching nervously for the aspirin drawer, tourism leaders across the region are being urged to abandon the “every nation for itself” mentality and embrace something far more practical: cooperation.

Not glamorous. Not flashy. But increasingly essential.

Because while tourism in Asia and the Pacific has rebounded impressively since the dark old days of COVID border closures, the latest warning signs are already blinking across the departures board.

Conflict and instability in the Middle East are again disrupting long-haul air services and weakening traveller sentiment, particularly for countries heavily reliant on transit routes through Gulf hubs or visitors originating from affected regions.

The timing could hardly be worse.

The region has only just clawed its way back from a brutal half-decade that delivered a pandemic, trade wars between Washington and Beijing, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, inflationary pressure and enough airline route reshuffling to make a seasoned network planner cry softly into a spreadsheet.

And yet, against the odds, Asia-Pacific tourism has shown remarkable resilience.

International arrivals in 2024 recovered to 96.3 per cent of 2019 levels, up dramatically from 78.8 per cent in 2023. Even better, tourism receipts climbed five per cent above pre-pandemic figures as higher-spending travellers returned to the skies with credit cards blazing and revenge-travel enthusiasm intact.

Importantly, much of this recovery has come from within the region itself.

Around 65 per cent of Asia-Pacific tourism now comes from intra-regional travel, a reminder that Asian travellers are increasingly fuelling growth in Asian tourism. In many ways, the region has become its own economic life raft.

And frankly, that may prove its smartest insurance policy.

According to projections, tourism is expected to contribute a hefty US$6.2 trillion to Asia’s economy by 2035, up from US$3.2 trillion in 2024, while supporting one in every 10 jobs.

That is not merely an industry. That is economic scaffolding.

But experts warn the next stage of growth will depend less on countries fighting for market share and more on how effectively they work together when the next global shock inevitably barges through the arrivals gate uninvited.

The report identifies four major policy areas capable of strengthening tourism resilience across Asia and the Pacific, and none involve building taller tourism slogans or inventing another logo with a palm tree in it.

1. Connectivity Still Rules the Roost

If tourism has a heartbeat, aviation is it.

The research shows that a one per cent increase in international flights is associated with a 0.98 per cent increase in visitor arrivals. That is about as close to a direct economic relationship as tourism gets.

Better roads matter too, with a one per cent rise in road quality linked to a 0.23 per cent increase in arrivals.

In simple terms, tourists like getting places without requiring emotional counselling halfway through the journey.

The region’s strongest outbound engines, including the People’s Republic of China, Japan and the Republic of Korea, continue to generate enormous demand, while Southeast Asia’s rapidly expanding airline capacity and tourism infrastructure position it perfectly to absorb those flows.

That alignment is critical because well-connected regions recover faster from shocks. Airlines can reroute demand. Travellers can pivot destinations. Tourism boards can cooperate rather than cannibalise one another’s markets.

It is not romantic, but resilience rarely is.

2. Visa Policies Can Kill Tourism Faster Than Bad Weather

The report delivers a fairly brutal statistic: restrictive visa policies can reduce international arrivals by up to 52 per cent.

That number should probably be tattooed onto the desks of immigration policymakers everywhere.

Southeast Asia’s relatively liberal visa settings helped the subregion recover faster during the pandemic, with intra-regional travel rising to over half of total arrivals in 2022, up from 35 per cent in 2019.

Digitalisation is also becoming a decisive battleground.

E-gates, digital pre-clearance systems, interoperable payment platforms and seamless traveller information systems are no longer optional luxuries. They are competitive necessities.

After all, travellers booking multi-country holidays generally prefer spending their time choosing restaurants and beaches rather than deciphering visa paperwork written like a tax audit.

Regional e-visa systems could become one of Asia’s greatest tourism advantages, encouraging longer stays, easier movement and more stable seasonal demand across multiple destinations.

3. Standards Matter More Than Tourism Brochures

Tourism operators have long understood a simple truth: travellers may love adventure, but they also love consistency.

Regional cooperation around tourism standards can significantly reduce perceived risk for visitors while lowering compliance costs for businesses operating across borders.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations has already moved towards harmonised tourism standards covering green hotels, homestays, public facilities and MICE infrastructure.

Meanwhile, the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation program is pursuing aligned standards for tourism sites, accommodation and transport facilities.

It may sound bureaucratic, but travellers notice standards immediately, especially when they disappear.

Nobody wants a “luxury eco-retreat” that turns out to resemble a garden shed with plumbing issues.

4. Diversify or Prepare for Pain

Perhaps the clearest lesson from the pandemic was the danger of overdependence on single-source markets.

East Asia reportedly lost an estimated US$527 million in 2020 following the collapse of outbound tourism from the People’s Republic of China.

That shock forced governments and operators to rethink the risk of tourism concentration very quickly.

The solution lies in diversified markets and diversified tourism products.

Cross-border eco-tourism, cultural trails, wellness experiences and MICE programs can spread risk while encouraging longer stays and higher spending.

More importantly, collaborative tourism ecosystems recover faster because they do not rely on a single market, route, or political relationship to survive.

And in today’s world, that flexibility is worth its weight in airport slots.

Asia-Pacific tourism has the demand, the infrastructure, and the natural appeal to dominate global travel growth for decades to come.

But survival in modern tourism increasingly belongs to destinations that cooperate rather than merely compete.

Because when the next crisis arrives, and history suggests it absolutely will, resilience may matter far more than rivalry.

For more information, visit UN Tourism and the Asian Development Bank.