The climax of five years’ cooperation on youth tourism development between ASEAN, China, Japan and Korea takes place in The Philippines and Thailand
The fifth ASEAN Plus Three Tourism Youth Summit (China, Japan and Korea) reaches its conclusion this week in The Philippines. Some 67 tourism students and young tourism professionals will conclude 11 days of varied learning and hands-on tourism experience which commenced in Bangkok on 18 September and will end in Manila on 29 September.
With the theme “ASEAN Plus Three Youth for Competitive and Sustainable Tourism Development” the culminating year for the program derives from the strategic tourism development objectives of the ASEAN Tourism Strategic Plan 2016-2025 and World Tourism Day 2017. The focus of the 2017 summit was, “Sustainable Tourism – a Tool for Development.”
The summit provided a venue for enhancing the competitiveness of ASEAN Plus Three Youth by education on tourism development, marketing, and technological innovations. The program also aimed to instil principles of sustainable and inclusive development through natural and cultural heritage exposure and community immersion.
Group workshops and educational tours ensued on five main topics: MICE Sector Development, Tourism Marketing Strategy, Heritage Conservation and Management, Tourism Innovation, and Sustainable and Inclusive Tourism Development.
Mr Anan Wongbenjarat, the Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Tourism and Sports in Thailand, told the young attendees on 19 September, “The summit is the perfect stage for networking and exchanging ideas and best practices on sustainable tourism development.”
On the students’ arrival in Manila on 24 September, the Philippine Undersecretary in the Department of Tourism, Alma Rita Jimenez, set the scene by telling the students, “In the next few days the summit will…allow you to participate in meaningful and developmental discussions. This group will be the beacon for the future of the ASEAN Plus Three Tourism Youth Program…. We are confident that each and everyone shall become standard-bearers for their respective countries and uphold the solidarity of ASEAN Plus Three.”
The program is one of the components of the ASEAN Plus Three Tourism Cooperation Work Plan 2013 – 2017 adopted during the 12th Meeting of ASEAN, China, Japan, and ROK Tourism Ministers in January 2013 in Vientiane, Lao PDR. The Philippines and Thailand were selected as the lead country coordinators to organize the annual summit 2013-2017.
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Further information
Visit www.aseantourism.travel
ASEAN Tourism Competitiveness Committee:
contact: atmcwg@gmail.com
ASEAN Secretariat:
contact: eddy@asean.org
