The 10 ASEAN members will discuss a unified ASEAN travel visa to ease travel
Members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and India have agreed to promote cooperation in tourism to help boost travel between the subcontinent and the Southeast Asian region. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) on tourism cooperation was signed by ASEAN tourism ministers and their Indian counterpart during the ASEAN Tourism Forum in Manado, North Sulawesi, on Thursday.
Indonesian Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Mari Elka Pangestu said that the MoU would serve as a key instrument to establish more concrete developments in facilitating travel between India and ASEAN. “We are pleased to note that the number of tourist arrivals between ASEAN and India has grown sharply of late,” she told a press conference at the Grand Kawanoa Convention Center.
The total number of tourist arrivals from ASEAN to India rose sharply to 439,000 in 2010 from 276,000 in 2009, meanwhile those from India to ASEAN reached a total of 2.2 million in 2011, up by nearly 10 percent from those recorded in 2010. A tourism marketing and promotion arm of ASEAN National Tourism Organizations, called the ASEAN Promotional Chapter, has also been established in Mumbai, India, to lure more Indian travelers to ASEAN.
United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Secretary-General Taleb Rifai said that the tourism industry in the ASEAN region remained robust despite the global economic slowdown challenging all parts of the world. “The global economic challenges are difficult. However, Indonesia, like any other ASEAN destinations will not be directly affected by this crisis,” he said.
Rifai said that tourist arrivals in the region grew by 9 percent in 2011, double the world’s growth of 4.4 percent. He cited the surging middle classes in the emerging countries as a potential market for ASEAN tourism. “China’s middle class grew by 50 percent, while Russia’s and Brazil’s middle classes grew by 21 percent and 22 percent, respectively. Those are potential markets,” Rifai said.
According to an ASEAN tourism ministers’ joint statement, the region attracted more than 79 million visitors last year, posting a 7.4 percent growth. Intra-ASEAN travel accounted for the highest number of tourists, making up 43 percent of the total international arrivals.
To attract more tourists inbound for ASEAN, the ministers have agreed to develop creative tourism, varying from heritage-, culture-, diving- to cruise ship-based tourism. The ministers also saw the establishment of the Tourism Professional Board and Tourism Professional Certification Board, completing the necessary requirements under the Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA) on tourism professionals.
“Tourism professionals who have been certified will be able to work in any country within the ASEAN region,” said Mari. On the program to introduce a single ASEAN tourist visa, Mari said that the region would conduct the process in stages. “If we look at Europe, they didn’t do it all immediately — they did it in stages. So this could happen in ASEAN and you can start, say, between two countries as a pilot, or you can do it based on a group of people for example [common visas] for businesspeople,” she said.
ASEAN plans to introduce a single visa for non-ASEAN residents as part of the association’s plan to establish ASEAN as a single tourist destination. The ASEAN governments also plan to introduce free visas for all ASEAN residents in order to boost inter-ASEAN tourism. At present, only seven of the 10 ASEAN members issue free visas for ASEAN citizens. Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia are expected to soon follow suit.
Source The Jakarta Post
ASEAN, India sign agreement to promote tourism
The 10 ASEAN members will discuss a unified ASEAN travel visa to ease travel
Members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and India have agreed to promote cooperation in tourism to help boost travel between the subcontinent and the Southeast Asian region. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) on tourism cooperation was signed by ASEAN tourism ministers and their Indian counterpart during the ASEAN Tourism Forum in Manado, North Sulawesi, on Thursday.
Indonesian Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Mari Elka Pangestu said that the MoU would serve as a key instrument to establish more concrete developments in facilitating travel between India and ASEAN. “We are pleased to note that the number of tourist arrivals between ASEAN and India has grown sharply of late,” she told a press conference at the Grand Kawanoa Convention Center.
The total number of tourist arrivals from ASEAN to India rose sharply to 439,000 in 2010 from 276,000 in 2009, meanwhile those from India to ASEAN reached a total of 2.2 million in 2011, up by nearly 10 percent from those recorded in 2010. A tourism marketing and promotion arm of ASEAN National Tourism Organizations, called the ASEAN Promotional Chapter, has also been established in Mumbai, India, to lure more Indian travelers to ASEAN.
United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Secretary-General Taleb Rifai said that the tourism industry in the ASEAN region remained robust despite the global economic slowdown challenging all parts of the world. “The global economic challenges are difficult. However, Indonesia, like any other ASEAN destinations will not be directly affected by this crisis,” he said.
Rifai said that tourist arrivals in the region grew by 9 percent in 2011, double the world’s growth of 4.4 percent. He cited the surging middle classes in the emerging countries as a potential market for ASEAN tourism. “China’s middle class grew by 50 percent, while Russia’s and Brazil’s middle classes grew by 21 percent and 22 percent, respectively. Those are potential markets,” Rifai said.
According to an ASEAN tourism ministers’ joint statement, the region attracted more than 79 million visitors last year, posting a 7.4 percent growth. Intra-ASEAN travel accounted for the highest number of tourists, making up 43 percent of the total international arrivals.
To attract more tourists inbound for ASEAN, the ministers have agreed to develop creative tourism, varying from heritage-, culture-, diving- to cruise ship-based tourism. The ministers also saw the establishment of the Tourism Professional Board and Tourism Professional Certification Board, completing the necessary requirements under the Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA) on tourism professionals.
“Tourism professionals who have been certified will be able to work in any country within the ASEAN region,” said Mari. On the program to introduce a single ASEAN tourist visa, Mari said that the region would conduct the process in stages. “If we look at Europe, they didn’t do it all immediately — they did it in stages. So this could happen in ASEAN and you can start, say, between two countries as a pilot, or you can do it based on a group of people for example [common visas] for businesspeople,” she said.
ASEAN plans to introduce a single visa for non-ASEAN residents as part of the association’s plan to establish ASEAN as a single tourist destination. The ASEAN governments also plan to introduce free visas for all ASEAN residents in order to boost inter-ASEAN tourism. At present, only seven of the 10 ASEAN members issue free visas for ASEAN citizens. Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia are expected to soon follow suit.
Source The Jakarta Post