NAY PYI TAW : East Asian ministers are joining hands to build deeper regional tourism strength.
As the region is home to natural beauty, unique historical sites and rich cultural traditions, tourism ministers and authorities have expressed their readiness to improve the ease of travel for visitors.
"We are trying to promote Asean as a destination by including two to three stops in one package," Mari Elka Pangestu, Indonesia's tourism and creative economy minister, told World Economic Forum participants in Myanmar last week.She said with greater integration and standardisation, the region's tourism sector is expected to grow by 10-20% in the coming years.
Ministers and tourism authorities from Myanmar, Cambodia, Indonesia and the Philippines have agreed to collaborate on a smart tourism system that will allow more use of electronic systems and third parties to facilitate visas. The objective is to eliminate barriers that create disincentives to travel.
"Successful hosting is not automatically successful tourism. We must begin with fundamental strategy. Successful tourism programmes begin by deciding whom to include and what community has the highest propensity to succeed, and then you move forward," said Ramo{aac}n Jimenez, the Philippines' tourism secretary.
He stressed the importance of creating jobs and opportunities for locals while preventing the destruction of areas of natural beauty.
Htay Aung, Myanmar's hotels and tourism minister, said responsible and sustainable tourism is important.
The culture and customs of Myanmar must be protected and respected by international visitors, he said.
"We are in the age of infancy and are not educated in tourism. That's why the first thing I did was draft a responsible tourism policy," said Htay Aung.
"We intend to use tourism to help Myanmar people get a better life."
Regionally, the tourism and travel sector directly provides jobs for 9 million people and generates 5% of Asean's gross domestic product.
Amid an economic metamorphosis, the tourism sector is playing an important role in boosting Myanmar's urban and rural economies.
Myanmar has expressed strong support for a regional and intra-regional trade shift, committing to allow all Asean nationals to visit the country without a visa as early as next year.