Report - Nature-Based Tourism and Adventure Tourism in the APEC Economies

REPORTNATURE-BASEDTOURISM ANDADVENTURE TOURISM INTHE APEC ECONOMIES APEC TOURISM WORKING GROUPJuly2024 APEC Project: TWG 01 2024S “Report on the main adventure and nature tourism ex-periences and products in APEC economies” Produced by: Vice Ministry of Tourism of Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism of Peru (MINCETUR) With the support from:San Ignacio de Loyola University (USIL), Peru For:Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Secretariat35 Heng Mui Keng TerraceSingapore 119616Tel: (65) 68919 600Fax: (65) 68919 690Email: info@apec.orgWebsite: www.apec.org Cover pictureParque Arqueológico de Choquequirao© Christian Jara / PROMPERÚ © 2024 APEC SecretariatAPEC#224-TO-01.4 The terms ‘national’, ‘nation’, ‘country’,or ‘state’used in the text are for the purposes of this reportand do not imply the political status of any APEC membereconomy Preface The tourism sector has demonstrated remarkable resilience in the faceof the pandemic. According to the UNWTO (2024), international tourismhas already recovered 88% of its pre-pandemic levels in 2023 and is expectedto fully recover in 2024. The Asia-Pacific region has reached 65% of its pre-pandemic levels, while the Americas have reached 90%. This scenario presents a significant opportunity for tourist destinations in theAPEC region to enhance their competitiveness by diversifying their tourismactivities to positively impact their local communities. The nature-based tourismand adventure tourism sectors are emerging markets for different economies.In light of this, through this report, the APEC Tourism Working Group hasproposed to support Driver 3 of the APEC’s Putrajaya Vision 2040, namely,Strong, Balanced, Secure, Sustainable, and Inclusive Growth. This report isdesigned to assist in planning, developing, and managing sustainable tourismproducts that will encourage economic growth and regional cooperation. The objective of this report is to examine the potential of nature and adventuretourism in APEC economies and provide valuable information that will assist instrengthening the sector’s development. The sharing of experiences and bestpractices between economies can facilitate the achievement of this goal. This document was made possible thanks to the generous support of Australia;Hong Kong, China; Malaysia; New Zealand; Peru; and the United States, whichprovided case studies. We would also like to thank the APEC Tourism WorkingGroup (TWG) for managing the production of this report. Acknowledgment The Ministry ofForeign Trade and Tourism of Peru (MINCETUR)would like to thank the following institutionswho contributed to thispublication: The Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism of Peru (MINCETUR), PeruJune 2024 Contents Preface5 Acknowledgment7 Abbreviations and Acronyms11 1.Introduction13 2.Methodology16 2.1.Approach and Objective162.2.Data Collection162.3.Case studies16 3.Travel & Tourism sector in the APEC Economies19 3.1.Contribution of T&T to the GDP193.2.International tourist arrivals203.3.Inbound tourism expenditure213.4.Domestic trip223.5.Domestic tourism expenditure233.6.Employment in the tourism sector24 4.Nature-Based Tourism and Adventure Tourism - Representative Cases27 4.1.Australia27a.Background27b.Main Policies and Regulations27c.Demand29d.Main Tourism Products33e.Lessons learned and challenges34 4.2.Hong Kong, China37 a.Background 37b.Main policies37c.Demand38d.Main tourism products39e.Outcomes / Lessons learned / Best practices40f.Challenges41 4.3.Malaysia42 a.Background42b.Main policies and regulations44 c.Demand44d.Main Tourism Products47e.Lessons learned and outcomes47f.Challenges48 4.4.New Zealand a.Background50b.Main policies, regulations, or standards52c.Challenges54 4.5.Peru a.Background58b.Main policies, regulations, or standards62c.Demand65d.Main Tourism Products67e.Outcomes and lessons learned68f.Challenges69 4.6.The United States 70 a.Background70b.Main policies, regulations, or standards70c.Demand74d.Main tourism products75e.Outcomes/ Lessons learned / Best practices75f.Challenges76 5.Conclusions and recommendations77 5.1.Conclusions775.2.Recommendations78 6.References79 7.Annexes817.1.Required information81 Tables Table 1:Contribution of travel and tourism to the GDPof the participating APEC economies (2019-2023)19Table 2:International tourist arrivals (in million) of the participating APECeconomies (2019-2023)20Table 3:Inbound tourism expenditure of the participatingAPEC economies, in USD (2019-2023)21Table 4:Domestic trips of the participating APEC economies (2019-2023)22Table 5:Domestic tourism expenditure of the participatingAPEC economies, in USD (2019-2023)23Table 6:Employment in the tourism sector of the participatingAPEC economies (2019-2023)24Table 7:Expenditure and average spend on nature-based trips (USD)33Table 8:Contribution of travel and tourism to Malaysia’s GDP (2019-2022)44Table 9:Malaysia: domestic tourism expenditure in USD (2019-2023)46 Abbreviations and Acronyms ATTA Advent