Vietnam’s capital city of Hanoi will be the venue for over 1,500 delegates, including policy makers and managers from ASEAN countries, to gather at a regional forum focusing on tourism slated for September 5-12, 2009.
The ASEAN Tourism Forum 2009 will include meetings of ASEAN tourism ministers and the ministers with dialogue partners.
Leaders of national tourism offices, the ASEAN task forces on tourism integration, and ASEAN Tourism Association Board will have working sessions within the event.
An ASEAN Tourism Expo (Travex) and various activities will also be included.
According to the host Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the forum, with its topic of “ASEAN Tourism – striving for new heights”, aims to boost visitor exchanges, cooperation, cultural exchange in the region, thus helping regional countries achieve sustainable tourism development, particularly amid the current global economic downturn.
The ASEAN Tourism Forum was held for the first time in Malaysia in 1981 and is hosted by regional member countries in rotation. Vietnam joined the forum in 1998.
Vietnam considers tourism as one of prioritised industries for development. The non-smoke industry brings in over 2 billion USD in revenues per year, contributing more than 4 percent of the country’s GDP.