PREPARATIONS are underway for Philippine destinations in and around the venues that will host the 2026 Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Summit and Related Meetings, the Department of Tourism (DOT) said Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025.
Malaysia is set to turn over the Asean chairship to the Philippines during the Asean Summit in Kuala Lumpur in October 2025.
“The Department of Tourism is a part and parcel of the National Organizing Committee for the Asean and chiefly, we are tasked with ensuring that our destinations are ready, as well as our facilities, cultural tours and the performances,” Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco told reporters at Centro de Turismo Intramuros in Manila.
“We have already deployed our teams to go around the country to visit the destinations and to work with our local government units so that the interventions needed, especially in terms of infrastructure support, safety, and security, cleanliness and readiness, are met,” she added.
Part of the Asean-related meetings scheduled next year is the Asean Tourism Forum (ATF), which will be held in Cebu in January.
Frasco said the ATF will be held at the soon-to-rise Mactan Expo Center in Lapu-Lapu City.
“I understand that Mactan Expo, which is brand new, will be finished by the last quarter of this year—ready for the Asean Tourism Forum,” she said.
The expo center, which can accommodate up to 2,600 people, is an anticipated addition to Cebu’s meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) and event spaces, on top of the Nustar Convention Center and IC3 Convention Center in Cebu City. / PNA