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'Feel the warmth' in South-East Asia

Friday, January 29, 2010

Catherine Deshayes

A brand new tourist campaign has been introduced in South East Asia in a bid to attract more tourists from Australia, India, USA and the UK - so just what is the 10-member Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) rolling out?...

ASEAN consists of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Burma, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

The new campaign, entitled ‘South-East Asia: feel the warmth,' is focused on a new promotional website SoutheastAsia.org and both will work to emphasize the warmth of Southeast Asia's hospitality and climate and the diversity of the region's cultural attractions and tourism activities.

The campaign is hoping to entice new international visitors to the countries following a fall of around four per cent in these visitor numbers last year as a result of the credit crunch.

The UN World Tourism Organisation said last week that international tourist arrivals should increase 3.0 to 4.0 per cent in 2010 after a difficult year.

Mainly targeting tourists from markets such as Australia and India, as well as further afield in Britain, Hong Kong and North America, the campaign will also be used as a tool to fight poverty for the poorer members of ASEAN.

ASEAN Tourism Association chairman Felix Cruz says the initiative will promote travel to multiple destinations in South-East Asia.

His Excellency Pehin Dato Yahya, Brunei's Minister of Industry and Primary Resources, told ASEAN Tourism Forum delegates and media that the new campaign had been built on four principles: "First, the fact that 'Southeast Asia' has greater recognition in international source markets than 'ASEAN'. Second, the trust that online consumers now put in meta-search tools and user-generated content. Third, the importance of authenticity and 'warmth' in travelers' decision making processes. And fourth, the tremendous opportunities that Southeast Asia offers to visitors who are interested in exploring niche themes such as culture, adventure, shopping, ecotourism, island holidays, train travel, spa, culinary experiences, river and sea cruises, and much more."'

As part of the roll-out, the ASEAN Tourism Association has agreed to establish an ASEAN Tourism Marketing Centre, initially within the ASEAN Competitiveness Enhancement (ACE) project in Bangkok. This centre will build awareness of SoutheastAsia.org and handle consumer queries.

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