(TITC) - On January 18th 2022, the opening ceremony of ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF) 2022 under the theme ‘A Community of Peace and Shared Future’ was solemnly organised in Cambodia.
The Vietnamese delegation at the opening ceremony of ATF 2022
Attending the ceremony were Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Hun Sen, senior officials of the host country, Ministers and Deputy Ministers of Tourism of ASEAN countries, and more than 1,000 representatives of national tourism agencies of ASEAN countries and partner countries, international organisations, representatives of ASEAN embassies and press agencies.
The Vietnamese delegation attended ATF 2022 led by Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Doan Van Viet, Chairman of Vietnam National Administration of Tourism Nguyen Trung Khanh, leaders of units under the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, Department of International Cooperation (Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism) with localities and tourism businesses.
ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF) is a massive event in the framework of ASEAN tourism cooperation, held annually, rotating alphabetically according to the names of ASEAN member countries. The ATF 2022 contains a range of activities such as the Ministerial Conference, the Ministerial and Partner Countries Conference, the National Tourism Agencies and Partner Countries Conference, Meeting of Working Group, ASEAN tourism cooperation and TRAVEX International Tourism Fair.
The Vietnamese delegation at the opening ceremony of ATF 2022
ASEAN is one of the most dynamic tourism development areas in the Asia and Pacific region. Most of the ASEAN member countries focus on developing tourism, consider tourism as an important economic sector in the national economy.
According to the ASEAN secretariat, in 2019 international tourists to the ASEAN region obtained 143.5 million arrivals, accounting for 9.6% of total worldwide international tourists; the growth rate reached 6.1%, higher than the general growth rate of the world (4%). The source markets in the ASEAN region are mainly intra-regional tourists and Northeast Asia, in which the outbound market of Vietnam is among the top 15 markets with about 4.1 million arrivals travelling to ASEAN.
To Vietnam tourism, ASEAN is one of the most critical markets and partners. In 2019, visitors from ASEAN region to Vietnam achieved 2.1 million arrivals, accounting for 11.6% of the total number of international arrivals to Vietnam. Multilateral cooperation within the ASEAN framework plays an important role in Vietnam international cooperation in tourism.
ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF) 2022 takes place in Sihanoukville, Cambodia from January 16th to January 21st, 2022.
(Photo: SPM Page)
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