Southeast Asia’s 10 tourism ministers have unveiled a 10-year plan to collaboratively market the ASEAN region as a single tourism destination.
The ministers from the 10-member countries announced a ‘Visit ASEAN@50’ campaign marking next year’s 50th anniversary of the establishment of the ASEAN pact.
"As ASEAN turns 50 it is an incredible opportunity for us to launch the whole idea that ASEAN is a single destination, not 10," said Philippine Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr.
"We are in what some Asians call ‘co-opetition’, that the more we compete, the more we grow. We sell ourselves as individual nations and collectively we sell ourselves as a region," Jimenez added
The decade-long tourism plan will market the region as a single destination while encouraging the dispersal of mass tourism to secondary destinations, supported by better connectivity and infrastructure.
It also aims ensure that ASEAN tourism development is sustainable and inclusive.
The campaign, which also includes a dedicated ASEAN cruise brand, will be formally launched in March at a Berlin travel convention.
