Travelling on foot, in jeeps, on rafts in the far-flung Himalayan regions of Northern Pakistan, Kathleen Jamie found a country in the tumult of change. She met Sufi mystics and Irish missionaries; young men and women caught between East and West, and women in purdah with whom she lived and became friends. This book won the Scottish Arts Council Book Award 1992.

Covering the whole of Asia and the Pacific region, this text provides both an analytic overview and specific data for each of the 60 countries. Introductory chapters cover regional issues, including: a regional review with the year's trends, developments and key events' analysis of the threat of terrorism in the region; the effects of deflation on the economy; the water crisis and its impact on the poor; and the successes and failures of micro-credit in the region. political and economic surveys identifying the trends, developments, problems and solutions; country profiles, including information on economic sectors, political parties and systems, demographics and languages; key facts and analysis of vital statistics; business guide offering practical information for visitors to the country, including local contact addresses; key indicators setting out the country's key economic indicators between 1998 and 2003.

Religion and spirituality are still among the most common motivations for travel - many major tourism destinations have developed largely as a result of their connections to sacred people, places and events. Providing a comprehensive assessment of the primary issues and concepts related to this intersection of tourism and religion, this revealing book gives a balanced discussion of both the theoretical and applied subjects that destination planners, religious organizations, scholars, and tourism service providers must deal with on a daily basis. Bringing together a distinguished list of contributors, this volume takes a global approach and incorporates substantial empirical cases from Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Roman Catholicism, Mormonism, New Ageism, Sikhism, Buddhism, and the spiritual philosophies of East Asia. On a conceptual level, it considers, amongst other topics: contested heritage the pilgrim-tourist dichotomy secularization of pilgrimage experiences religious humanism educational aspects of religious tourism commodification of religious icons and services. A vibrant collection of essays, this outstanding book discusses many important practices, paradigms, and problems that are currently being examined and debated. It raises an array of significant and interesting questions and as such is a valuable resource for students, scholars and researchers of tourism, religion and cultural studies.

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