TOURIST AS A PEACE AMBASSADOR: A CREATIVE TOURISM PERSPECTIVE IN ASIA COMMUNITY

摘要

Undoubtfully tourism in Asia can give a significant contribution in economic income for both countries and their people. Many countries in Asia attract tourists from over the world to visit their countries in a variety of efforts. Beside providing a good service, infrastructures and beautiful tourism destination, they also promote their tourism objects and destination by means of social media, television, brochure and many other advertisement. Through tourism, countries in Asia compete each other to raise their economic income. In short, countries in Asia see tourism industry as an economic commodity. On the other hand actually not only does tourism give impact on economic development of the countries and its people but it also gives a strategic influence on peace-making in Asia area. By tourism, the tourists can learn culture and tradition of the people. When visiting a community in this region, they can understand a certain value, norm and a particular belief of the people and many others. By doing so, it will ignite a mutual understanding among the people of the nations. Thus tourism can decrease the tension or conflict among countries in Asia. Problems among countries in Asia are various. They can be political, social, cultural, economic as well as religious. Commonly the leaders in Asia countries solve them through diplomacy approach. They send envoys to discuss and wipe out their conflicts. Sometimes it takes a long time to get deal and involves a limited number of person. In the near future, tourism might take a significant role in eliminating the various problems faced by the leaders in Asia. An appropriate type of tourism that might give a strategic impact on creating the region peaceful is a creative tourism. The basic concept of the creative tourism lies on a paradigm that tourist is not just a spectator and engaging in sightseeing, but also involves a reflexive interaction on the part of tourist. It indicates that as a tourist, they not only enjoy the hospitality of the people and the beauty of scenery they visit, but they also make an interaction with the local people and do something accustomed to being done by the people in that place at a certain period of time. They try to learn the people's habit, creation and tradition and also understand their belief system. The Asia countries and the people in this region are required to be creative to offer an attractively creative tourism. They might create a certain area as an integrated creative tourism agenda. In this area, the tourists can stay with a certain community in a particular term of time. They interact with the local people in their day-to-day activities. They try to communicate with them with their language. They can also practice a certain skill usually done by the people, such as making a handy craft, producing a certain type of food and beverage and what not. They can share their different life habit and culture. By doing so, the tourist can get some experiences and understanding. Those aspects are able to generate and develop a mutual relationship among the people and finally it can strengthen a feeling of peace among the people in this region. Through creative tourism, peace-making mission will be pushed to be a primary agenda in Asia tourism policy in the near future.