East Asian Integration in the Sphere of International Tourism
International tourism as a form of regional integration takes a specific place in numerous research projects which analyse complicated processes of modern social development. That fully relates to the East Asian region where the dialectics of relations between local governments has a compound historical heritage. Experts consider international tourism in East Asia to be a very serious integration factor assisting to overcome old regional contradictions. The article makes an attempt to present the real state and prospects of integration space development in South East Asia, including the sphere of international tourism. East Asian market of tourist services is one of the most competitive in the world. Its specific feature is that it creates trends that later on appear on the global level. Practically all countries in East Asia lay emphasis on internal and entrance kinds of tourism, thus developing the countries' national infrastructure and making significant contributions to local budgets. Internal tourism is based on visiting historic sites, monuments of ancient culture, on pilgrimage missions connected with religious traditions, while entrance tourism of foreigners is orientated mainly to receiving cheap, highly qualified medical services within the framework of the programmes implying conducting complex diagnostics and treating complicated diseases. In PRC they strongly believe that by uniting regional independent states it will be possible to create a common tourist industry which could stimulate the instilling of the single Confucian civilization ideas in people's consciousness. Recently Chinese authorities on all levels have started to advocate the so-called internationalization considering it to be an exclusively East Asian regional project as opposed to the Western concept of globalism. East Asian tourism reflects the natural and cultural variety of countries in the region, their economic achievements, aspiration to preserve the thousand-year-old heritage. It is tourism in the region that has become an important channel of acquaintance with achievements of human spirit, respect for human virtues and individuality, acknowledgement of cultures’ peculiarity and the moral values of East Asian nations. East Asian tourism stimulates education and scientific activity, which enables to comprehend the essence of regional cultural heritage and prospects of its further development in a philosophic manner.