Tourism between politically divided nations: the role of tourist contacts in the transformation of Taiwan-China relations
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31861/mhpi2019.39.83-91Abstract
The article is devoted to the study of the features of the impact of tourism on the interaction of split nations. The focus is on the evolution of mobility regimes between China and Taiwan and their impact on the transformation of bilateral relations. The political processes that preceded the development of tourist contacts in the Taiwan Strait have been highlighted, the influence of tourist interaction on the establishment of peace and political stability in the region as well as the integration of China and Taiwan into a single tourist area have been explored. The main stages of the transformation of the foreign policy component of the tourism policy of China and Taiwan are traced. It is argued that China's tourism policy during the last ten years (2008-2018) has been accompanied by the active use of tourist flows as an instrument of economic, cultural and political integration of Taiwan. This was made possible by establishing direct transport links, visa liberalization, and the possibility of individual tourist trips to Taiwan. Such an activity led to the politicization of economic and tourism cooperation with China in Taiwan society, influenced the electoral process that became implicit in the «Sunflower Movement» in 2014. Freedom of travel for Chinese tourists to Taiwan has become a revolutionary transformation not only in the tourism industry on the island, but also a symbol of the transformation of relations between the two shores of the Taiwan Strait. It is concluded that China's tourism policy to create a spatial mobility regime with Taiwan is oriented towards the use of tourism as a global actor of economic and cultural integration, as well as foreign economic and political pressure.
Keywords: «divided nations», Taiwan-China relations, tourism, tourism policy.
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