Making Sense of Seasons

Abstract

This chapter reviews the institutional seasonality phenomenon in Asian outbound tourism. Eight key Asian countries were selected for investigation. Secondary data and archives from official tourism authorities and government reports are used as the information sources for the holiday systems and the celebrations for the cultural festivals. Four categories of holidays shaping the outbound seasonality patterns (universal holidays based on Gregorian calendar, Chinese culture-based holidays, religious festivals, and school holidays) are identified across the eight countries. Particular observances for those key cultural and religious holidays are highlighted. The opportunities and challenges for destination managers and tourism businesses to capitalize on and support peak outbound Asian seasonality are discussed.

Citation

Chen, T. (2016), "Making Sense of Seasons", The World Meets Asian Tourists (Bridging Tourism Theory and Practice, Vol. 7), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 39-55. https://doi.org/10.1108/S2042-144320160000007004