Post COVID, tourism is accelerating in an unprecedented manner particularly in Southeast Asia. According to UN Tourism, Asia and the Pacific reached 65% of pre-COVID arrival levels with a gradual recovery since the start of 2023. Moreover, following a strong rebound in 2023, international tourism is expected to fully recover pre-COVID levels in 2024. Within the market, the awareness of sustainable tourism has been rising, it also indicates the market is becoming more sustainable. Nevertheless, responsible tourism is still taken lightly, and the tourism  businesses are said to be among the slowest to practice sustainability. 

Ecotourism is believed to be an effective tool to conserve the natural areas while improving the welfare of the community through interpretation and education. However, in many cases often ecotourism development leads to a degradation of nature because of a lack of understanding on the ecotourism principles and how to implement them. Many nature-based tourism destinations claim and are promoted to market as the ecotourism destinations despite their lack of or limited sustainable practices. This situation is very concerning as it is often referred to as ‘greenwashing’ in ecotourism. Therefore, a localized yet globally recognized standard is urgently needed among the destinations and the service providers. This, in turn, encourages visitors to act responsibly and sustainably in the destinations.