부산대학교 도서관

East Asia has become the world economic growth center for tourism, and the tourism industry is a growth engine for the region. As the foci Asian countries, China, Japan and Korea will play a key role in the world stage in the 21st century, so Northeast Asia definitely is a crucial area. In terms of tourism, Northeast Asia has become an international destination, and China is estimated to become the biggest tourism market in the world. The basic conditions and exterior environment for constructing a tourism economic circle are mature. On the other hand, the Northeast Asian integration ship seems to have run aground currently, because of complex political and economical situations within this region. Therefore, the breakthrough should be founded in some exercisable way, and tourism could be one of these. This paper discusses the prospects and some constraints in building up a Northeast Asian Tourism Economic Circle (NATEC) focusing on pivotal countries ― China, Japan and Korea.