LGBT Tourism and Inclusion in Southeast Asia: A Divided Future?
Some countries in Southeast Asia do better than others in welcoming LGBT tourists.
Southeast Asia has enjoyed an exponential surge of foreign tourists in the past decade. According to the World Travel and Tourism Council, the total contribution of tourism to the economy of southeast Asia was $30.1 billion in 2016. Tourism has made a total contribution of 11.8 percent of ASEAN’s GDP and created more than 30 million jobs annually. ASEAN Tourism Strategic Plan 2016-2025 estimates that tourism will eventually make 15 percent of ASEAN’s GDP.
