• ASEAN aims to welcome 121 million tourists by 2017, Visit ASEAN@50 Tourism Branding unveiled

    September 7, 2016
    ASEAN aims to welcome 121 million tourists by 2017, Visit ASEAN@50 Tourism Branding unveiled

    Travel Biz News —

    Vientiane: The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) aims to raise  international visitor arrivals to Southeast Asia from 108.9 million in 2015 to 121 million and increasing tourism receipts from US $ 75 billion in 2014 to US $ 83 billion by the end of 2017.

    With the target of welcoming more international; tourists , ASEAN revealed the branding for its “Visit ASEAN@50 Golden Celebration 2017” tourism campaign. The branding was unveiled by the 10 ASEAN heads of state at the ASEAN Summit in Vientiane, Laos this week.

    Visit ASEAN@50 campaign plans to welcome more  international visitor arrivals to Southeast Asia in the coming years.

    The new campaign will promote the twin objectives of commemorating the 50th anniversary of ASEAN in 2017, and embracing the ASEAN region of Southeast Asia as a single and united, yet diverse, tourism destination.

    Multiple activities and promotions will be announced to drive the campaign. Visit ASEAN@50 partners will be revealed at the ITB Asia travel industry show in Singapore in October.

    Special travel experiences and offers will be announced at the World Travel Market in London in November according to ASEAN Tourism statement.

    “ASEAN’s Golden Jubilee serves as a great opportunity for our 10 member states to celebrate Southeast Asia’s strength through diversity as the world’s fastest growing tourism destination,” said Mr Thongloun Sisoulith, Prime Minister of Lao PDR and Chairman of the ASEAN Summit. “Visit ASEAN@50 will contribute towards our vision of creating a cohesive ASEAN economy,” he said.

    Key target markets for ASEAN’s 50th anniversary tourism campaign in 2017 will be long-haul markets such as Europe, Middle East and North America, as well as intra-ASEAN, China, Japan, Korea, India and Australia.

    The ASEAN Tourism Competitiveness Committee, which is responsible for the tourism campaign implementation with partners, says planned ASEAN@50 marketing activities include: “VisitASEAN@50” official launch at the ASEAN Tourism Forum early January 2017 in Singapore ; Media familiarisation trips showcasing ASEAN connectivity and multi-country travel routes ; Special tour packages with offers, special airfares, shopping discounts for travel in 2017  to be revealed at WTM London ; Campaign promotion in international travel trade shows in key source markets ; Social media campaigns to enhance consumer engagement and Promotional programs by ASEAN’s national tourism offices targeting trade, consumer and MICE markets throughout 2017 among  others.  

    The 2017 50th anniversary tourism campaign is part of the ASEAN Tourism Strategic Plan 2016-2025, which was adopted by the association’s tourism ministers in Manila in January 2016.

    Sept. 6 , 2016

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