Government officials of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations discussed steps on how to speed up the integration of…
Government officials of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations discussed steps on how to speed up the integration of tourism sector by 2010 during the national tourism organizations meeting at Pearl Farm Beach Resort in the Island Garden City of Samal (IGaCoS).
Undersecretary Oscar Palabyab of the Department of Tourism in an interview during the IGaCoS-hosted dinner for the ATF 2006 official government delegates at Malipano Island said the move for integration was approved at the last NTO meeting of the Asean Tourism Forum (ATF) in Bali, Indonesia.
He said their vision four years from now is for tourists to travel with ease to Asean countries as well as outside of the region. He also commented that with an integrated tourism sector within the ASEAN region, problems like bureaucratic red tapes experienced by the travelers could be reduced.
Palabyab also said they had tackled and covered extensively their agenda which will be presented to the tourism ministers. He was optimistic the agenda would be approved favorably.
The ATF is a cooperative regional effort to promote Southeast Asia as one tourist destination and calls together national tourism leaders and decision-makers from all ten member nations to confer, exchange ideas, review industry developments, and jointly formulate specific recommendations to further accelerate the growth of ASEAN tourism.
Also organized during the ATF is the TRAVEX which is a platform for the selling and buying of regional and individual tourism products from ASEAN member countries, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao POR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
There are 370 buyers from 48 countries and the type of exhibitors include adventure/incentive travel suppliers, airlines, destination management companies, hotels and resorts, national/state tourism organizations, event companies, theme parks/leisure attractions and entertainment venues, travel management companies, car rental, trade publication/media and trade associations.
Among the countries with ten and more buyers delegates are Australia, Canada, China, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Netherlands, Philippines, Poland, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland, Thailand, United Kingdom and USA.
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