(TITC) - On 3rd February, in the framework of the ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF 2023) in Indonesia, Mr. Ha Van Sieu, Vice Chairman of Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) attended the 42nd Meeting of ASEAN+3 (China, Japan and Korea) National Tourism Organisations.
VNAT’s Vice Chairman Ha Van Sieu attending and speaking at the meeting (Photo: TITC)
Indonesia and Japan co-presided the 42nd Meeting of ASEAN+3 NTOs. Within the framework, the support of ASEAN-China Centre, ASEAN-Korea Centre and ASEAN-Japan Centre, particularly includes technical support through training courses on tourism promotion website building, tour guide training, technical seminars on the market, participation in promotional events and product development.
Thereby, AKC has opened an ASEAN tourism page on its official website to introduce tourism products of ASEAN countries from 2021, in which it has chosen to introduce Vietnam's culinary tourism; organised seminars on “Recovering from Covid-19: Smart Tourism for ASEAN and Korea” and “Digital promotion for ASEAN-Korea Tourism”, “Building a strong, resilient and sustainability tourism industry by the way of digital transformation” in two years 2021-2022; AKC promotes tourism in ASEAN countries via annual activities of ASEAN Week and Jeju-ASEAN exhibition in September 2022; producing short films introducing Vietnam tourism to be screened on AKC's Youtube page at ASEAN Seoul Week in October 2021; Operate vehicles to promote and introduce ASEAN tourism at 16 major destinations of Korea in September 2022.
Overview of the meeting (Photo: TITC)
On the AJC side, AJC proceeded 2 surveys on the Knowledge of Japanese Tourists to ASEAN and Japanese Tourist Trends Travelling to CLMV countries; organised a training programme on ASEAN Heritage Interpretation, an online seminar to introduce ASEAN tourism products, a seminar on study tours to ASEAN destinations; publish the School Tourism Brochure for CLMV countries and the Guidebook on Sustainable Tourism for Tour Guides; Workshop on Community Tourism in Laos in November 2022. AJC is planning to organise a tourism training course for ASEAN countries in Vietnam in November 2023.
ACC has built a joint booth of ASEAN and invited embassies of ASEAN countries in China to participate in international tourism events such as China-ASEAN EXPO, CITM International Travel Mart, Sichuan International Travel Mart; organised the ASEAN-China Dialogue on Sustainable Development for Culture and Tourism; organised an online Chinese language training programme for ASEAN countries. It is expected that the ASEAN Tourism Investment Seminar will be held in China on the occasion of the 2023 CITM Mart in Kunming.
Head of delegation of ASEAN+3 to attend the meeting (Photo: TITC)
Giving his remarks at the meeting, Mr. Ha Van Sieu, VNAT’s Vice Chairman emphasised the appreciation of Vietnam towards continuous support of China, Japan and Korea for ASEAN+3 tourism cooperation this year, during the challenging time of the first stage of reopening tourism.
Last year, Vietnam’s tourism industry worked closely with three countries and achieved significant outcomes, in which successfully organised the bilateral meeting with Japan in November 2021 where both sides adopted the Action Plan for 2022-2024. We also signed a new MOU on tourism promotion with Korea in December 2022.
With the good news that China is open for international tourism, just two weeks ago we welcomed the Ambassador of China to Vietnam to site-inspect the tourism facility in Ha Long Bay, a favourite destination of Chinese tourists.
Overview of the meeting (Photo: TITC)
To jointly boost the tourism cooperation between ASEAN and plus three countries, Viet Nam commits to working closely with all Member States to implement ASEAN+3 Tourism Cooperation Work Plan 2021-2025 and working our best to deliver good results for the joint tourism projects and activities. Along with the active roles of ASEAN centres, we hope that ASEAN+3 tourism cooperation and exchanges will soon be revived, while Viet Nam and ASEAN will be your top destination again.
As this year 2023 marks the fiftieth commemorative year of ASEAN-Japan relations and the fiftieth anniversary of the establishment of Viet Nam - Japan diplomatic relations, VNAT’s Vice Chairman Ha Van Sieu welcomes and fully support the initiative of Japan to organise the ASEAN-Japan Tourism Ministers Special Dialogue 2023.
Delegates at the meeting discussed and endorsed the contents of the Draft Agenda of the 22nd M-ATM+3; Draft Report of the Co-Chair of the ASEAN+3 NTOs; and Draft Co-Chairs Statement of the 22nd M-ATM+3.
Vietnamese delegation attending the meeting (Photo: TITC)
Tourism Information Technology Centre (From Yogyakarta, Indonesia)