Tourism (coastal/eco-tourism) Sector.

Established with high to moderate development potential

Overview.

Coastal and eco‑tourism are core pillars of ASEAN’s blue and green economy, supporting millions of livelihoods and driving significant economic activity across the region. Tourism contributes substantially to national GDP, employment, and small‑enterprise development, particularly for women, while nature‑based attractions, marine landscapes, and cultural heritage remain central to the region’s global appeal. Yet the sector faces mounting pressures from ecosystem degradation, overuse of natural assets, climate impacts, seasonality, and exposure to economic shocks that disproportionately affect coastal communities and rely heavily on stable visitor flows and healthy environments.

Across Southeast Asia, tourism demand and recovery trajectories vary, with pre‑pandemic peaks demonstrating the sector’s scale and post‑COVID‑19 rebounds revealing ongoing vulnerabilities. Regional initiatives such as the ASEAN Action Roadmap for Sustainable Tourism Development and emerging post‑2025 strategies place stronger emphasis on quality, responsible tourism aligned with long‑term sustainability goals. Efforts to harmonise ecotourism standards, improve certification systems, strengthen destination management, and support value‑added, low‑impact tourism reflect a growing recognition that unchecked growth threatens ecological integrity and the long‑term viability of the sector. However, uneven capacity, variable governance structures, and inconsistent implementation across member states pose continuing challenges.

Within this wider sustainability and governance landscape, coastal and eco‑tourism intersect with conservation, fisheries, cruise tourism, and coastal infrastructure because the sector depends on healthy ecosystems, accessible coastal spaces, and coordinated services such as transport links, port and marina facilities, waste and water systems, and destination‑level visitor management. These cross‑sector dynamics shape environmental quality, community benefits, and long‑term livelihood opportunities, while supporting circular‑economy approaches through resource efficiency, waste minimisation, and climate‑resilient natural assets that underpin the future of sustainable tourism across ASEAN.

Explore how Tourism is positioned for each of the

Blue Economy Capitals.

Financial Physical Human Social Natural

Financial Capital.

Financial Capital.

Tourism is a core pillar of ASEAN’s blue and green economy. Travel and tourism contributed 12.1% of regional GDP and around 42 million jobs in 2019, making it one of Southeast Asia’s largest employers, especially for women and SMEs (BIMP-EAGA, 2024). International visitor arrivals to ASEAN peaked at 143.6 million in 2019, generating about USD 137.7 billion in tourism receipts (SEADS, 2025). After collapsing during the pandemic, arrivals rebounded to 123 million in 2024 (up 30.6% year-on-year), putting the region back on track towards pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels (SEADS, 2025).

International tourism receipts peaked at USD 137.7 billion in 2019 before falling to USD 39.8 billion in 2022, highlighting the sector’s scale and vulnerability to shocks (ASEAN Statistical Brief, 2023). Tourism earnings in Southeast Asia rose from USD 68.6 billion in 2010 to USD 147.6 billion in 2019, indicating a large revenue base for mobilising conservation and eco-tourism finance (Rogers et al., 2022).

The ASEAN Tourism Strategic Plan 2016–2025 promotes an ASEAN Tourism Fund and incentives such as the ASEAN Sustainable Tourism Award to attract private investment into sustainable and community-based tourism (ASEAN Sustainable Tourism Award, 2024). The Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) Southeast Asia Sustainable Tourism Facility provides about USD 0.5 million in technical assistance to help ASEAN states develop bankable sustainable-tourism projects and attract private and climate finance (ADB, 2021). In 2024, the ADB committed USD 6.2 billion to Southeast Asia for infrastructure, business development, and related projects that indirectly support sustainable tourism (ADB, 2024). Green-finance platforms such as the ASEAN Catalytic Green Finance Facility and the ASEAN–UK Green Transition Fund now include sustainable and nature-based tourism, signalling a shift toward more structured blue and green finance for ASEAN’s tourism sector (ASEAN–UK, 2025).

Physical Capital.

Physical Capital.

ASEAN’s tourism capital rests on natural and heritage assets supporting eco- and coastal tourism, and on regional infrastructure that facilitates cross-border travel. By 2021, ASEAN had protected 15.6% of land and 4% of marine areas, creating a growing but limited network of sites vital to eco- and coastal tourism (ASEAN Biodiversity Dashboard, 2021). UNDP reports that ASEAN contains about one-third of the world’s coastal and marine habitats, underpinning its rich natural tourism assets (UNDP, 2024).

International sea passenger traffic reached 5.3 million in 2018, highlighting the importance of ports and maritime transport for tourism mobility (ASEAN Maritime Outlook, 2023). In the summer of 2025 46 million intra-ASEAN airline seats were sold , underscoring the vital role of air connectivity in regional tourism (OAG, 2025). Under the ASEAN Tourism Strategic Plan, accommodation capacity was projected to increase from ~0.51 to ~0.60 accommodation units per 100 people by 2025, reflecting steady growth for both mass and nature-based tourism (ASEAN Travel & Hospitality, 2016). The ASEAN Tourism Sectoral Plan 2026–2030 will align with the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) strategy to prioritise sustainable, climate-resilient infrastructure, improved visitor management, low-impact facilities, and stronger regional connectivity (SEADS, 2025; WorldJPN, 2025).

ASEAN has advanced big‑ticket connectivity, yet gaps persist beyond main gateways. Major hub projects such as Singapore’s Changi Terminal 5 (Singapore Ministry of Transport, 2025), Viet Nam’s Long Thành International Airport (technical opening December 2025; commercial operations targeted mid‑2026) (Anh, 2025), and Cambodia’s Siem Reap–Angkor International Airport (opened October 2023) (Chuanren, 2023), plus the upgrade of Singapore’s Marina Bay Cruise Centre to handle dual megaships (Singapore Tourism Board, 2025), are expanding capacity and long‑haul reach. Rail is also reshaping flows: the China–Lao PDR Railway now carries tens of millions of passengers and over 70 million tonnes of cargo cumulatively, lowering logistics costs and enabling rail‑linked tourism to Luang Prabang and Vientiane (State Council of the PRC, 2025). Even so, many secondary gateways and last‑mile links remain under‑invested despite MPAC 2025’s people‑mobility focus (ASEAN, 2024, 2025).

Travel facilitation has accelerated and is boosting multi‑country trips: Viet Nam’s 90‑day, multi‑entry e‑visa for all nationalities from August 15, 2023 (Vietnam Tourism, 2023; Vietnam Immigration, 2024), the Philippines’ mandatory digital eTravel declaration (Government of the Philippines, 2026), Thailand’s expanded 60‑day visa‑exemption and the China–Thailand mutual visa waiver (ThaiEmbassy, 2024; VisaIndex, 2024), and Malaysia–China’s five‑year extension of 90‑day reciprocal visa‑free travel (CNA, 2025) all lower friction and lengthen stays. Ministers continue to explore an ASEAN common visa, but data‑sharing and enforcement concerns mean phased or sub‑regional pilots are likelier in the near term (Jones, 2024; VisasNews, 2026). In parallel, transport communiqués note progress on ACTS and AFAMT and further steps to strengthen the ASEAN Single Aviation Market, including sustainability road‑mapping (Centre for International Law, 2023; ASEAN, 2024).

Near‑term priorities are to connect secondary gateways to regional clusters with modest, high‑impact works such as transfer hubs, last‑mile access and visitor information centres using MPAC tools (ASEAN, 2025); tighten CIQS coordination at priority borders by aligning hours, enabling joint inspections and piloting single‑window lanes that build on ACTS and AFAMT practices (Centre for International Law, 2023; ASEAN, 2024); pilot “Seamless ASEAN/Drive Tourism” overland routes with harmonised traffic rules and joint marketing (Tourism Laos, 2024); scale digital facilitation such as e‑visas, pre‑arrival declarations and trusted‑traveller lanes (Vietnam Tourism, 2023; Government of the Philippines, 2026); and pursue a phased common‑visa pathway with shared risk management and interoperable data standards (Jones, 2024; VisasNews, 2026).

Human Capital.

Human Capital.

In 2024, ASEAN welcomed over 123 million international visitors, with Governments recognising that post-COVID-19 recovery has made tourism workforce development crucial (WorldJPN, 2025). The ASEAN Mutual Recognition Arrangement on Tourism Professionals (MRA-TP) provides 242 competency toolboxes across six service divisions, supported by trainer and assessor programs to enhance skills and mobility region-wide (ASEAN Tourism Professionals, 2022). The ASEAN Ecotourism Standard (adopted in 2024) strengthens quality requirements for staff skills, guiding, and management, emphasising that ecotourism growth relies on human capacity as much as natural assets (ASEAN Ecotourism Standard, 2024; WorldJPN, 2025).

The ASEAN Tourism Sectoral Plan 2026–2030 will align with the AEC strategy to build a sustainable, resilient tourism sector by accelerating MRA-TP implementation and strengthening regional capacity and coordination (ASEAN, 2025). Research in the Asia-Pacific region highlights the increasing significance of green skills in tourism training, such as resource efficiency and sustainability. This development aligns with the ASEAN initiative towards promoting eco-friendly and low-impact tourism practices (UNESCO, 2024).

Natural Capital.

Natural Capital.

Although ASEAN occupies only about 3% of the Earth’s terrestrial surface, the region encompasses four globally recognised biodiversity hotspots characterised by high levels of endemism and species richness. This biogeographic distinctiveness underpins extensive wildlife assemblages and rainforest ecosystems, thereby supporting a robust foundation for protected‑area and conservation‑oriented tourism (ASEAN, 2022). In the coastal and marine realm, ASEAN’s tourism economy is closely intertwined with the Coral Triangle. Despite spanning merely 1.6% of global ocean area, this natural capital contains approximately 76% of the world’s hard coral species and 37% of reef fish species.

These attributes constitute a critical natural asset base for marine leisure industries, including diving, snorkelling, and associated ecotourism value chains (DCCEEW, 2024). Recent valuation study further underscores the economic salience of these ecosystems: coral reefs are estimated to generate roughly USD 25.1 billion per year (2019 USD) for Asia–Pacific economies through combined fisheries and tourism benefits, highlighting the region’s substantial dependence on living reef systems for livelihoods and foreign exchange earnings (Bartelet et al., 2024).

In parallel, ASEAN’s natural‑capital agenda increasingly prioritises wetland resilience and nature‑based tourism, reflected in the designation of 59 Ramsar Sites across eight Member States (26,592 km²), which deliver ecotourism opportunities alongside climate‑adaptation and resilience co‑benefits (ASEAN Biodiversity, 2024). Consistent with this trajectory, the World Bank identifies nature‑based tourism as a pathway to safeguard jobs while internalising conservation outcomes, aligning with ASEAN’s strategic pivot toward higher‑value, conservation‑driven tourism models and more sustainable destination management (World Bank, 2021).

The Coral Triangle region overlapping ASEAN coasts generated about USD 25 billion in nature-based marine tourism in 2013–2014, is projected to reach over USD 200 billion by 2035, and nature-based tourism already accounts for up to 25% of the global tourism market (WWF, 2016). ASEAN is steering tourism growth toward sustainability through the ASEAN Action Roadmap for Sustainable Tourism Development and a post-2025 plan aligned with a vision of quality, responsible tourism by 2045 (BIMP-EAGA, 2024). The ASEAN Ecotourism Standard, led by Lao PDR with Economic Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA) and the ASEAN Tourism Fund, aims to harmonise ecotourism certification across member states, supporting a shift toward higher-value, lower-impact tourism (ANN, 2025).

Assessment of Capacity for Growth

Assessment of Capacity for Growth

HIGH TO MODERATE

(high to moderate development potential)

The ASEAN region’s coastal, eco-, and inland tourism holds potential to grow further, provided it balances expansion with environmental stewardship. Many of its most valuable destinations, including coral reefs, small islands, wetlands, forests, and heritage landscapes, are under pressure from climate impacts and visitor intensity. To ensure long-term viability, growth strategies must prioritise sustainability alongside economic goals.

Future opportunities lie in enhancing value rather than solely focusing on increasing volume. Models such as ecotourism, community-based tourism, cultural and wellness experiences, and longer stays can deliver higher returns per visitor while reducing ecological stress. Strengthening visitor management in protected areas, green certification, and climate-resilient infrastructure will further support this shift. ASEAN’s regional tourism standards provide a strong foundation for aligning sustainability, quality, and market access across destinations.

Innovative financing, such as blended green and blue finance, conservation linked tourism fees, and payment for ecosystem services schemes, can reinvest tourism revenues into ecosystem protection and community livelihoods. With improved regional coordination on standards, data, and multi-destination itineraries, ASEAN can position itself as a global leader in nature-positive tourism, achieving growth in value, resilience, and social benefit while safeguarding its natural assets.