Promotions needed to develop ASEAN tourism

JAKARTA, Jan. 24  — More promotions and facilities are needed to enhance ASEAN tourism sector as the bloc is eager to further develop intra ASEAN tourism and to attract more foreign tourists.

The bloc should accelerate the implementation of free visa policy for all ASEAN residents, in which it only waits for approval from Cambodia and Myanmar, but currently implemented bilaterally between eight other ASEAN member states.

Meanwhile, ASEAN has a lot of opportunities to widen its tourism market, not only from its traditional market, but also from within ASEAN itself and growing East Asia.As ASEAN Deputy Secretary General Sundram Puspanathan told recently, the region should focus on how to make more foreign tourists to come, and the leaders of ASEAN members are working to make free policy visa for them. “For ASEAN tourists, we have a 3 weeks-visa exemption that has been implemented 2-3 years ago. Now we have to look at outside ASEAN,” he said.

On Jan. 12, Indonesia’s Minister for Tourism and Creative Economy Mari Elka Pangestu formally introduced ASEAN as the single tourist destination during the region’s tourism forum in Manado of North Sulawesi province.”The campaign was launched in Indonesia and would be fully implemented after problems involving common visas to non ASEAN residents are settled,” she said.

According to Puspanathan, 43 percent of all international arrivals coming to ASEAN are from within the region in 2011, out of total 79 million visitors.
“Intra ASEAN tourism is very good, especially when Europe and the U.S. are in crisis,” he said.

Besides, he said, ASEAN should also eye tourist from East Asia like China, Japan and South Korea as well from India. The middle class in the emerging countries was identified as a good potential market for ASEAN’s tourism sector.

Based on the United Nation World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)’s data, China’s middle class grew by 50 percent while Russia’s and Brazil’s middle class rose by 21 percent and 22 percent, respectively.

UNWTO Secretary General Taleb Rifai said that tourist arrivals in the region were up 9 percent in 2011, more than twice the global rate of 4.4 percent.
Puspanathan said that tourism sector has multiplier effects as tourist will not only spend money for accommodation, but also for purchasing things in shops, buying foods and others.