Exploring and Evaluating the National Traditions and Cultural Identity in Tourism Development

Southeast Asia has long been regarded as an important region with its common feature “unity in diversity”. This paper aims to clarify the definition and structures of the national identity and traditional values of ASEAN members and describe the current situation of exploitation and investment in order to analyze the objectives and strategies of the local businesses in terms of the cultural tourism sector in these countries. Using the collective materials and participation-observation methodology, this paper identified 5 factors contributing to the national brand for tourism development, including tangible heritages, cultural values in traditional customs, festivals, cuisine, and popular tourist sites. The author also used SWOT analysis to point out advantages and existing obstacles of tourism activities in Southeast Asian countries and studied the opportunities of global trends, favorable conditions of the Industry 4.0 and Integration for the local tourism development. In that regard, the author would suggest some ideas for the promotion and enhancement of the cultural products and services based on these values and identities, with the collaboration among the stakeholders.