Southeast Asian leaders have unveiled a logo that will be used to boost tourism in a campaign to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations next year.
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha (fourth left) and other Asean leaders launched the tourism logo during the summit in Vientiane on Tuesday.
The Visit Asean@50 Golden Celebration 2017 was introduced on Tuesday as part of the annual Asean summit hosted by the Lao government.
Asean will celebrate its 50th anniversary next year and a joint tourism campaign is part of the planned activities.
“Visit Asean@50 will contribute towards our vision of creating a cohesive Asean economy,” Lao Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith said during the introduction of the logo.
With the logo and campaign, Asean hopes 121 million travellers will visit the region in 2017, an increase from 108 million in 2015. It could generate US$83 billion next year compared with $75 billion in 2014, the grouping said.
Its main targets are visitors from Europe, the Middle East, North America, China, Japan, South Korea, India and Australia, it added.
The tourism campaign highlights the 50 best festivals and 50 places which will be unforgettable experiences for travellers to the 10 member states, the Asean Secretariat in Jakarta said.