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Perhaps more than any other country, the island nation of Singapore offers a bridge among cultures. Using data from multinational cohorts of international tourists studying in Singapore, this chapter reveals the travel patterns and preferences of Indian students whose tourist behaviors are less well understood. This chapter aims to identify their key motives using Pearce and Lee’s travel career pattern model. It also aims to identify the destination-based factors that attract Indian students in Singapore. The findings suggest that the students’ travel motives are linked to kinship and collectivism, and they are most concerned about price and safety when choosing destinations. This chapter reveals core motives and how the students can be welcomed in the next steps of their travel trajectory.

The interests of outbound Chinese tourist behaviors have been of much recent research interest, yet the youth segment has received relatively little attention. By surveying young Chinese in Macao this chapter provides some glimpses into their aspirations and planning for future travel. The definition of “young” in this chapter is people aged between 18 and 35 years which is adapted from the Pacific Asia Travel Association in its “Young Tourism Professional” program. The impetus lies in the potential malleability of preferred destinations for this new generation of Chinese tourists since the precedents of the past and the limitations of language and group control over travel have weakened in the last 10 years.

The final chapter of this volume seeks to interpret and explain key dimensions of Asian outbound tourism. Initially the challenge of employing culturally sensitive theoretical lenses is tackled. Cautious and at times sceptical assessments of the mobilities paradigm, critical pragamatism and specific micro approaches are offered. A selection of key lenses for future study is made. Major forces affecting Asian outbound tourism such as the digital world and low-cost air carriers are reviewed. The strategic issues facing destination managers and communities are highlighted. Managing the adjustments for mutual well-being between tourists and the communities they visit are stressed and extracted from the chapters in this book.

This introductory chapter defines and notes the development of tourism out of Asia as a new force in global human communication. The complexities and some efficiencies in defining Asia are reviewed. The chapter considers dispersal patterns from a number of Asian countries and notes the chief destinations as provided by current statistical counts. Key issues arising from attempts to interpret these data are noted. The importance of out of Asia tourists is confirmed through the material presented. The visibility of Asian tourists is considered and the subtleties of recognizing intra-Asian differences are noted. Some select theoretical approaches focussing on societies in contact are introduced. These theories offer pathways to bring academic and managerial insights to this evolving phenomenon.