Wednesday, January 18, 2006
Players to promote intra-Asean travel
WITH 550 million people in the Southeast Asian region, the Asean Tourism Association (Aseanta) is targeting to mobilize at least 10 percent of this figure to travel within the region.
Malaysian Association of Travel and Tours Association immediate past president Tunku Iskandar said this during a press conference Monday at the Waterfront Hotel in Davao City.
Aseanta is an organization of tourism stakeholders in the region.
"We need to help our neighbors promote their tourism and that could enrich the whole Asean," he said.
Iskandar said the best way to do it is by promoting better understanding between the people in various Asean countries.
Data showed that in 2004, about 44.9 million people from all over the world visited the region, but only 23 million people from Asean countries are traveling within the region.
"These figures showed that we haven't even reached at least five percent of intra-regional travel. This is why we are exerting efforts to boost travel within Asean countries," Iskandar said.
It was also shown that the biggest number of travelers visiting the region were those from Japan, China, Korea, United States, Australia, and Taiwan.
Aseanta is expecting increased travel in the coming years with the operations of low cost airlines, increased number of hotels, and attractive excursion packages.
For Bisaya stories from Davao. Click here. (January 18, 2006 issue)
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