EAST Asian destinations should stop fighting for the same tourists and instead work together to expand the regional tourism market, the Pacific Asia Travel Association (Pata) said, as competition for international travelers intensifies.
Pata chief executive officer Noor Ahmad Hamid said the 10-member East Asia Inter-Regional Tourism Federation (EATOF) could pool its resources, connectivity, data and tourism products to create a stronger regional proposition and attract more high-value visitors.
“The question is not whether the market will grow. The right question is who will actually grow,” Hamid said at the 19th Eatof Governors’ Conference hosted by Cebu Province.
He proposed a “Super 10” model in which EATOF’s 10 destinations retain their individual identities but collaborate on marketing, product development, market intelligence, connectivity and workforce development.
Hamid said travelers from Europe, North America and other markets are unlikely to view Eatof destinations as separate administrative entities. Instead, they see East Asia as a single region offering different cultures, experiences and travel routes.
“Instead of fighting over a big slice of the cake, what if we work together to make the cake bigger?” he said.
PATA forecasts international visitor arrivals in the Asia-Pacific region will reach 761.2 million by 2028, highlighting the scale of the potential market for destinations that can improve regional connectivity and develop multi-destination travel.
Hamid said destinations risk losing opportunities when they spend heavily competing for visitors, airline seats, events and media attention while failing to address barriers that affect the visitor experience.
Among these are air connectivity, visa processing, airport arrivals and mobility within destinations.
He cited the difficulty of traveling between Cebu and Kuching, saying the journey could take nearly 20 hours, illustrating the connectivity gaps that continue to constrain intra-regional tourism.
Hamid said tourism competitiveness is also shifting toward destinations that can use data and insights effectively, strengthen value chains, improve digital visibility and adopt technology and artificial intelligence.
“The question is no longer simply who is stronger. It is who is smarter, more connected and more adaptable,” he said.
Super 10 alliance
The proposed Super 10 alliance would focus on five areas: sharing knowledge, connecting tourism products, jointly promoting the region, learning from one another and growing together.
Such cooperation could allow the destinations to package beaches, temples, heritage sites, mountains, cultural attractions and other experiences into multi-destination itineraries, giving international travelers more reasons to stay longer and spend more across the region.
Hamid stressed that collaboration would not require destinations to give up their individual brands.
“Competition doesn’t mean you are losing your identity,” he said.
He urged Eatof to evolve from a network that meets periodically into an alliance that continuously creates economic value through joint market intelligence, product development, global promotion and capacity building.
The need for stronger regional cooperation is growing as tourism faces geopolitical tensions, climate change, changing travel behavior and rapid advances in technology, he said.
“Ask ourselves what can the 10 of you achieve together that none of you could achieve alone,” Hamid said.
Eatof will celebrate its 20th anniversary next year in Gangwon, South Korea. Hamid said the milestone should mark the start of a new phase for the federation as a stronger tourism and economic network.
“Ten destinations, different identities. When we work together, we become a much stronger force in the global tourism industry,” he said. / KOC