Welcome to the 4th Conference on Sustainable Tourism in Asia (COSTA 2018). This international, peer-reviewed weekend event will be held in partnership with the 4th Conference on Management and Sustainability in Asia (COMSA 2018).

The unprecedented boom in tourism these days is well documented, with over 1 billion international travellers in 2015, accounting for over 9% of the world GDP, and numbers expected to reach 1.5 billion by 2020. Asia, too, has prospered from this trend with Bangkok claiming the coveted title of the most visited city in 2016. These staggering numbers, coupled with the economic benefits associated with them, often overshadow the inherent conflict between the needs of conservation management and tourism. The key to reconciling the differences resides in sustainable tourism, defined by the UN as “Tourism that takes full account of its current and future economic, social and environmental impacts, addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment and host communities.” Viewed in the past as an ‘alternative’ or ‘fringe’ form of tourism, today it is widely accepted and plays an integral role in generating a green economy.

Conventional tourism, especially in developing countries, is more vulnerable to the industry’s adverse effects from environmental risks like compromised ecosystems to socio-cultural conflicts arising from failure to respect, communicate and include local communities in the planning and benefit sharing. Sustainable tourism, on the other hand, reshapes the landscape by prioritizing the inextricable link between the welfare of people and the preservation of our natural and cultural heritage.

The transition to sustainable tourism challenges all participants to respect host communities’ socio-cultural diversity, fairly distribute the socio-economic benefits between all stakeholders, and optimize the use of environmental resources, among others. Academics, researchers, students and representatives from industry, government and non-governmental organizations need to both share their findings and learn from each other, in order to facilitate the transformation in how economic activity is conducted, allowing human societies to be sustained and to thrive.

Early registration is only 23,500 JPY. We welcome submissions of 250 words in English by Friday, November 17, 2018 on the following streams:

◾Cultural Tourism
◾Dark Tourism
◾Eco-Tourism and Geo-Tourism
◾e-Tourism, ICT and Travel Technology
◾Event Management
◾Halal Tourism
◾Hotel and Hospitality Management
◾Medical Tourism
◾Sustainable Tourism
◾Tourism Policy, Planning & Development
◾Urban and Rural Tourism
◾Other Areas of Tourism (please specify)