Asean adopts new 5-year tourism dev't plan

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, including the Philippines, has adopted a new five-year comprehensive plan to promote the region as a single tourism destination along efforts to put up an economically integrated Asean Community by 2015.Tourism ministers of the 10-member Asean adopted the Asean Tourism Strategic Plan (ATSP) 2011-15 in a meeting held in Cambodia last week.

In a joint statement issued at the end of the meeting, the ministers, including Tourism Secretary Alberto A. Lim, said the ATSP would contribute to the overall goal of building the Community through promotion of growth, integration and competitiveness of the tourism sector.Also, the Asean ministers noted that developing the tourism sector included efforts to deepen social and cultural understanding, and facilitating travel into and within the Asean.

Asean groups the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam.Based on the 110-page ATSP, it is envisioned that “by 2015, Asean will provide an increasing number of visitors to the region with authentic and diverse products, enhanced connectivity, a safe and secure environment, increased quality of services.”

The plan, which replaces the Roadmap for Integration of Tourism Sector that recently expired, is also meant to “ensure an increased quality of life and opportunities for residents through responsible and sustainable tourism development by working effectively with a wide range of stakeholders.”

In particular, the plan aims at promoting the Asean as a single tourist destination, developing a set of Asean tourism standards with a certification process, enabling tourism professionals to work in any of the Asean member states, and allowing visitors to travel throughout Asean with a single visa.

In view of this, Asean governments have agreed to grant increased flexibility to designated airlines to “allow them to fly and carry traffic from any Asean city with an international airport to its counterpart in other member states, while ensuring the full third, fourth and fifth freedom traffic rights.The third freedom traffic rights allow an airline to fly and carry traffic from one’s own country to another while the fourth provides for the reverse.

Source = business.inquirer.net