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Tourism
and the Asian Highway |
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| Facilitating
travel along the Asian Highway for tourism purposes could clearly make
a contribution to economic development, increased social interactions
and better understanding among a great number of Asian countries. Progress
on the Asian Highway project has had a varied paced development over the
last 40 years, but since the late 1980s, the demand for reliable and efficient
transport by road to facilitate tourism and trade has been growing. |
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Countries linked
by the Asian Highway share a wealth of historical and cultural heritage
and unspoiled natural beauty. These countries could join hands in promoting
tourism along the highway, which in turn would provide excellent opportunities
to strengthen regional cooperation and contribute to social and economic
development. However, lack of information to clearly designate attractions
along the highway and lack of awareness in many tourist markets are
still hampering countries’ efforts in this regard. Yet, the potential
for the Asian Highway to expand opportunities for regional and international
cooperation remains strong and ESCAP is pursuing its effort in this
area, which started in mid-1990s when a questionnaire survey was conducted
by the secretariat. The survey highlighted opportunities and obstacles
encountered by various countries and suggested actions that might be
taken at national and regional levels to promote tourism along the Asian
Highway. More recently (December 2003), the secretariat published the
“Asian Highway Handbook”,
which provides brief technical information on the status on the Asian
Highway routes and major tourist attractions in 32 Asian countries.
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