H.E. Mr. Nguyen Trung Khanh, Chairman of Vietnam National Authority of Tourism (VNAT) led the Vietnamese delegation attending the Meeting (Photo: TITC)

In the cooperation framework of ASEAN Plus Three, via the support of ASEAN-China Centre (ACC), ASEAN-Japan Centre (AJC) and ASEAN-Korea Centre (AKC), the supports of the three partner countries for ASEAN tourism are mainly in the form of technical assistance through training courses on tourism promotion (website building, training tour guides, technical seminars on the market, participating in promotional events), product development and exchange programmes, training courses in ASEAN and partner countries.

​In detail, China organised 3 activities: China-ASEAN Expo Tourism Exhibition; China International Tourism Fair; and ASEAN-China Human Resource Quality Improvement Programme. Japan was the host of the ASEAN-Japan Tourism Ministers’ Special Dialogue held on 28 October 2023 in Tokyo, Japan; on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of ASEAN-Japan diplomatic relations. Japan has also implemented bilateral projects with many ASEAN Member States including Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. Korea implemented a number of activities in the Korea Partnership Initiative for Sustainable Tourism (KOPIST), including: Expert Level Forum; High-Level Policy Forum; In-depth consultation from July to November 2023; and Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) to the Philippines from 2023 to 2026.

Overview of the Meeting (Photo: TITC)

Highly appreciates China, Japan and Korea’s continuous supports for ASEAN tourism development, especially with promotional projects and events to disseminate ASEAN tourism image in the three countries, VNAT’s Chairman Nguyen Trung Khanh said, China, Japan, and Korea have always been important source markets for Vietnam and the key priorities for promotion since reopening tourism.

In 2023, Vietnam welcomed nearly 6 million visitor arrivals from the three countries, accounting for 47% of total international arrivals. Vietnam has implemented various policies to ease the visa requirements and facilitate the smooth travel of tourists in the region. In August 2023, Vietnam issued a new visa policy, which extended the duration of stay for tourists applying for e-visa up to 90 days, and for tourists applicable for visa exemption up to 45 days.

VNAT’s Chairman Nguyen Trung Khanh​ suggested China, Japan and Korea consider creating more favourable conditions for tourists from ASEAN to travel to their countries. Besides, introduce ASEAN countries as the prioritised and suggested destinations for outbound tourism to your travel agencies and to their media.

Promoting ASEAN+3 tourism cooperation (Photo: TITC)

“To jointly boost the tourism cooperation of ASEAN Plus Three, Vietnam commits to working closely with all member states to implement the ASEAN Plus Three Tourism Cooperation Work Plan and actively contribute to the joint tourism projects and activities. To better promote ASEAN destinations and our linkage tours, I suggest member states work together and conduct thematic Fam Trip of our strengths such as beach leisure tourism, heritage tourism, spa and wellness tourism for media and influencers from partner countries.” emphasised VNAT’s Chairman Nguyen Trung Khanh.

Responding to the ACC’s, AJC’s and AKC’s presentations, VNAT’s Chairman Nguyen Trung Khanh highly appreciates the support and cooperation of the three centres with the recovery and development of ASEAN tourism, he added, in 2023, Vietnam tourism has joined the ASEAN-China Investment Workshop and China Tourism Expo in China, supported by ACC. Vietnam also worked closely with AJC to successfully organise the Training for Trainers on Digital Skills for Green Enterprises in Vietnam, with the participation of eight member states. And the cooperation with AKC was effective with the new video clip on “Architecture and Culture” filmed in Vietnam and broadcast on AKC’s channels and media.

Representatives of three countries: China, Japan and Korea speaking at the Meeting (Photo: TITC)

In the coming time, VNAT’s Chairman Nguyen Trung Khanh suggested ACC extend the Project of Fam Trip for Chinese influencers to Vietnam destinations, and consider collaborating with Viet Nam on more activities. He also proposed that AJC and AKC continue their technical support for capacity building and marketing events, as well as organise more market researches to explore tourists’ behaviour and emerging trends of outbound tourism in the plus three countries.

At the Meeting, delegates discussed on the preparation for the 23rd Meeting of ASEAN, China, Japan and Republic of Korea Tourism Ministers (M-ATM+3); The representative of Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) to brief the Meeting on tourism trends between ASEAN and the Plus Three Countries; Considerate and adopt the Summary Record of the 44th Meeting of the ASEAN Plus NTOs…

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