ASEAN to tackle tourism concerns

DAVAO CITY — The diverse tourism concerns of all 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations member-nations will be tackled at the meeting of the ASEAN Special Working Group on Tourism Integration today, kicking off the much-awaited nine-day ASEAN Tourism Forum 2006 here.

The ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF) was created 25 years ago with the vision of making the ASEAN region one vast tourist destination.

It aims to promote a cooperative regional effort in the tourism industry sectors of the ASEAN’s 10 member-nations — Cambodia, Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Tourism ministers of Japan, China and Korea will also attend the ATF as part of the ASEAN Plus Three grouping.

The ASEAN special working group on tourism integration, which is set to hold its meeting at the Pearl Farm Beach Resort today, is expected to discuss development updates on the efforts to project ASEAN as an attractive, multifaceted single destination.

The output of the meetings of the different ASEAN tourism organizations will be discussed at the meeting of the ASEAN tourism ministers on Monday, one of the highlights of this year’s ATF.

The members of the ASEAN National Tourism Organizations (NTOs) will also hold a series of meetings starting tomorrow, while other ASEAN groups such as the ASEAN Airlines Association, ASEAN Hotel and Restaurant Association and the ASEAN Federation of Travel Associations, will also conduct meetings for the duration of the ATF.

An ASEAN Travel Exchange will also be held at the NCCC Shopping Mall here, and thousands of tourism buyers and sellers are expected to attend.

Complimentary tours of Davao City and its environs shall also be made available to over 3,000 delegates to the ATF 2006.

According to Davao City ATF Host Council chairman Art Boncato, the annual forum also aims to strengthen cooperation among the various sectors of the ASEAN tourism industry. — Edith Regalado