Southeast Asia aims to boost Indian arrivals

Asean will focus on boosting Indian arrivals by establishing an ASEAN Tourism Promotional Chapter (APCT) in Mumbai, officials said this week.

At the second meeting of the ASEAN and India Tourism Ministers during ATF 2010 in Brunei Darussalam, ASEAN said all Ministers had supported the establishment of the APCT.

The APCT in Mumbai will be used as a collaborative platform for ASEAN National Tourism Organisations to market Southeast Asia to Indian consumers.

The move comes as ASEAN and India Tourism Ministers acknowledged during ATF 2010 the need for mutual cooperation to revitalise international and intra-regional tourism and deal with challenges.

Ministers also welcomed the adoption of the ASEAN-India Aviation Cooperation Framework by transport officials that will see a more liberalised aviation environment between India and ASEAN.

The number of tourist arrivals from India to ASEAN has been steadily growing, with ASEAN welcoming in 2009 more than 1.9 million Indian arrivals.

Sourced = The e Travel Blackboard