ASEAN Launches Southeast Asia Tourism Campaign

On Monday, ten Southeast Asian countries officially launched a new tourism campaign built around the slogan, Southeast Asia: feel the warmth.

 The new campaign, with southeastasia.org at its heart, will immediately target tourists in medium and long haul markets such as the UK, Australia, India, North America and Hong Kong, and will emphasize the warmth of Southeast Asia's hospitality and climate as well as the diversity of the region's cultural attractions and tourism activities. The ten participating countries are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

 His Excellency Pehin Dato Yahya, Brunei's Minister of Industry and Primary Resources, told ASEAN Tourism Forum delegates and media that the new campaign had been built on four principles, "First, the fact that 'Southeast Asia' has greater recognition in international source markets than 'ASEAN'. Second, the trust that online consumers now put in meta-search tools and user-generated content. Third, the importance of authenticity and 'warmth' in travelers' decision making processes. And fourth, the tremendous opportunities that Southeast Asia offers to visitors who are interested in exploring niche themes such as culture, adventure, shopping, ecotourism, island holidays, train travel, spa, culinary experiences, river and sea cruises, and much more."

Mr Felix J. Cruz, Chairman of the ASEAN Tourism Association (ASEANTA) and Vice President for Marketing at Philippine Airlines, said that the campaign had the supporting objectives of promoting multi-destination travel within Southeast Asia, boosting tourism as a tool to fight poverty in the poorer areas of the region, and helping small and medium-sized tourism enterprises showcase their tourism services to a wider audience.

Above video: Just a few of the special moments from the opening ceremony of the ASEAN Tourism Forum 2010 which took place in the Grand Ballroom at the Empire Hotel & Country Club in Brunei Darussalam on the evening of 25 January 2010.

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