Singapore Tourism Board, along with Malaysian Tourism Board and Thailand Authority of Tourism, launched the Visit ASEAN@50 campaign to mark 50 years of ASEAN at SATTE 2017.
The campaign was unveiled at the three-day tradeshow SATTE 2017 where all three NTOs are participating. STB is the chair of the ASEAN Promotional Chapter for Tourism (APCT) in India for this year. The Visit ASEAN@50 campaign promotes the twin objectives of commemorating the 50th anniversary of ASEAN and embracing the ASEAN region as a single and united tourism destination.
The Visit ASEAN@50 campaign was launched by Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, the ASEAN Secretary General Le Luong Minh and ASEAN tourism ministers at ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF) in Singapore earlier on 18th January 2017. The objective of the campaign is to raise tourist arrivals to the region to 121 million by end of 2017, up from 108 million in 2015. The campaign will showcase Southeast Asia's unique culture, architecture and nature in 10 amazing ASEAN countries. This campaign marking ASEAN’s Golden Jubilee serves as a crucial platform for ASEAN Member States to collectively work hand-in-hand to advance the ASEAN region as the world’s top tourism destination.
Visit ASEAN@50 campaign showcases ASEAN’s 50 best festivals and 50 most unforgettable travel experiences, whereby visitors can enjoy a wide range of ASEAN tourism products through diverse destinations, culinary, events, and engagements with local communities.
G B Srithar, Regional Director, South Asia, Middle East and Africa STB, as chair of APCT India said, “ASEAN countries attract many Indian travelers and continue to grow in popularity among them. While Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore continue to enjoy good visitorship from Indian travelers, we are happy to note that more and more Indian travellers are exploring offerings by our neighbours like Cambodia, Myanmar and Vietnam. For the ASEAN@50 campaign in 2017, fifty special travel experiences, ranging from 2 to 26 nights, have been created by leading tour operators and cruise lines in Southeast Asia to entice travelers to visit the region for the first time, as well as encourage repeat visitors. One area that the NTOs are working closely to promote is cruise tourism. Cruising allows travellers to discover the coastal beauty and cityscape of Southeast Asian countries in a hassle-free and “value for money” way. As part of the travel fraternity within ASEAN, we look forward to visiting more Indian travelers to the region.”
The Visit ASEAN@50 campaign is being supported by private sector giants such as Mastercard and AirAsia.
BW Reporters
Vaishali Dar is a Senior Associate Editor with BW Businessworld and Editorial Head with BW Disrupt. She writes on corporates, start-ups, hospitality and travel
