One of the most significant changes in tourism in recent years has been the concept of interconnections, which is evident at various levels of tourism planning. Strategic alliances between rival companies, vertical integration between and across firms, collaboration between public and private sectors and partnerships between countries and regions have become common practice in contemporary tourism. This book addresses this theme from a Southeast Asian perspective by focusing on the way in which individual countries have coalesced (or have attempted to coalesce) with each other and the 'outside' world under the banner of regionalism and globalisation.

Part One examines the political discourse behind tourism, bringing to light some questions regarding the tensions associated with the interconnections. Part Two focuses on deterritorialisation and the development of new regionalisms, paying specific attention to collaborative efforts in tourism development and to fostering greater movement within and in and out of the region. Part Three presents the sociocultural implications of tourism as a globalising phenomenon, covering not only global-local tensions but also 'regional identities' and 'pan-Asian' heritage, especially as portrayed to outsiders. Part Four pulls together ecological and community concerns under the umbrella of ecotourism - an important aspect of the tourism potential of the region - examining the way nature is interpreted and promoted, as well as the collaborative efforts to develop sustainable tourism and joint environmental monitoring systems. Part Five itemises potentials and problems which arise when Southeast Asia latches onto the new spatial structures ofeconomic interaction. The challenges of global interdependency are re-examined as vulnerabilities and volatilities associated with tourism interconnections become more apparent.

By researching and initiating dialogues on regional and global interconnections, it is hoped that this book will add value to current research and debates in tourism, economic geography, geopolitics, cultural politics, globalisation and the financial and environmental crises in Southeast Asia.

With the vast majority of academic theory on tourism based on 'Western' tourists, Asia on Tour illustrates why the rapid growth of travel for leisure and recreation in Asia demands a reappraisal of how tourism is analyzed and understood. Examining domestic and intra-regional tourism, the book reveals how improvements in infrastructures, ever increasing disposable incomes, liberalized economies, the inter-connectivities of globalization and the lowering of borders, both physical and political, are now enabling millions of Asians to travel as tourists. Drawing upon multidisciplinary theoretical perspectives and up-to-date empirical research, the twenty-three accessible essays in this volume indicate why a rigorous and critical study of Asian tourism must become integral to both our analysis of this rapidly transforming region and our interpretation of global tourism in the twenty first century. As a rich collection of essays on heritage and tourism oriented around Asian tourists, Asia on Tour will be of particular interest to students and scholars working in the fields of tourism, Asian studies, geography, heritage, anthropology, development, sociology, and cultural and postcolonial studies.

With the vast majority of academic theory on tourism based on 'Western' tourists, Asia on Tour illustrates why the rapid growth of travel for leisure and recreation in Asia demands a reappraisal of how tourism is analyzed and understood. Examining domestic and intra-regional tourism, this book reveals how improvements in infrastructures, ever increasing disposable incomes, liberalized economies, the inter-connectivities of globalization and the lowering of borders, both physical and political, are now enabling millions of Asians to travel as tourists. Drawing upon multidisciplinary theoretical perspectives and up-to-date empirical research, the twenty-three accessible essays in this volume indicate why a rigorous and critical study of Asian tourism must become integral to both our analysis of this rapidly transforming region and our interpretation of global tourism in the twenty first century. As a rich collection of essays on heritage and tourism oriented around Asian tourists, Asia on Tour will be of particular interest to students and scholars working in the fields of tourism, Asian studies, geography, heritage, anthropology, development, sociology, and cultural and postcolonial studies.

This book is a comparative study of the Anglican Bishop Joseph Butler's and Neo-Confucianist Wang Yangming's ethical enterprise. It first analyses, within their respective historical context, the two thinkers' overarching worldviews and their seminal conception of conscience / liang-chih as a person's supreme moral guide. The English bishop and the Chinese philosopher-military general are then brought into dialogue by way of a comparing and contrasting of their distinct religious-philosophical traditions. In addition, Butler and Wang will be placed in a hypothetical encounter to explore how they, and by proxy Christianity and Confucianism, would critically appraise each other's spiritual and sociopolitical endeavor. The end purpose of this study is to enhance our perception of the intriguing similarities and complex differences that exist between these two Axial Age civilizations. The author argues that dissonances notwithstanding, Butler and Wang share core values, consonances that could and should set the tone for an amiable Christian-Confucian co-existence.