Anthropology club: Guest Lecture on Tourism in Central Asia
November 6, 2025
#邪薪褌褉芯锌芯谢芯谐懈褟#anthropology#ANTH
Today we held a meeting with Professor Kenichi Ohashi from the Department of Culture and Tourism Studies at Rikkyo University, one of Japan鈥檚 top private universities. Currently, he is studying tourism mobilities in Eurasia, focusing on Russian-speaking tourism in Vietnam.
During the session, he shared insights on tourism as a growing field in contemporary anthropology and introduced his ongoing research in Central Asia. Professor Ohashi also discussed the changing trends in tourism development in Vietnam. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Vietnam attracted a large number of Russian tourists, especially to coastal destinations such as Nha Trang and Phan Thiet. However, after the pandemic and the onset of the war between Russia and Ukraine, there has been a noticeable shift 鈥� with increasing numbers of tourists arriving from Central Asian countries such as Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgzystan. These new visitor flows reflect broader regional transformations in mobility, economics, and geopolitics.
Interestingly, similar tendencies can be observed in Turkey, where Russian tourist arrivals once dominated the market but have been partially replaced or complemented by travelers from Central Asia following the geopolitical and economic disruptions of recent years.
Students asked many insightful questions about these evolving tourism patterns and their cultural implications, engaging in a lively discussion on the intersections of tourism, mobility, and contemporary global change, as well as the practical aspects of pursuing a career in anthropology 鈥� including how anthropologists can apply their expertise in professional and income-generating contexts.
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