Bangkok, Thailand, 10 January 2008 — Top travel agents and tour operators from India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, and Vietnam are the dominant group of buyers scheduled to attend the ASEAN Tourism Forum 2008 (ATF 2008) to be held in Bangkok between 18-26 January 2008 — the fifth time for Thailand to be hosting this event. Of the total of 650 hosted and non-hosted buyers confirmed as of 8 January 2008, a majority of 294 are from Asia, including 47 from Singapore, 38 from Malaysia, 34 from India, 31 from Indonesia, 21 from Vietnam, and 43 from Thailand itself.
Another 239 buyers are from Europe including the UK (48), Germany (46), The Netherlands (20), and France (15). Other key markets include the United States (39), and Australia (31).
Amongst the sellers, the largest contingent is from the host country, Thailand (184 of the 446 organisations), followed by Indonesia (61), Malaysia (56), Singapore (25), Philippines (17), Vietnam (17), Myanmar (9), Brunei and Cambodia (7 each), and Lao PDR. (5). The rest are multinational corporate organizations.
According to Mrs Phornsiri Manoharn, Governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, “This selection of buyers reflects the rapid growth taking place in intra-regional travel — one of the most important trends taking place today.”
She said more growth is certain as Asia-Pacific governments push regional social and economic integration and liberalise movements of people and goods by boosting transportation infrastructure, especially low-cost airlines.
She said she was also encouraged by the increasing numbers of sellers from the Mekong countries.
Mrs Phornsiri added, “This year’s ATF is very significant because ASEAN has just commemorated the 40th anniversary of its establishment. Also, in November 2007, the ASEAN leaders signed a new charter reiterating their commitment to community-building in ASEAN and uniting in making the organisation more people-oriented.
“In the tourism sector, we will be looking for ways to implement this vision. We look forward to welcoming our friends and supporters from throughout the ASEAN region and beyond at the ATF 2008,” she said.
The ATF is the annual summit of the public and private sectors of the ten-member ASEAN grouping. The ten countries have a combined population of about 567.5 million, a total area of 4.5 million square kilometres, a combined gross domestic product of over US$1 trillion, and a total foreign trade of over US$ 1.4 trillion.
ASEAN attracted an estimated 56 million visitors in 2006, posting a healthy eight per cent growth over 2005 with countries like Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Thailand posting double-digit growth. Intra-ASEAN travel accounted for 49 percent of total visitor arrivals.
The first part of the ATF is devoted to the public sector meetings among ASEAN national tourism organisations as well as discussions with the NTO’s of China, India, Russia, Japan, and Korea, all countries with which the ASEAN region is enjoying flourishing travel and tourism contacts.
The second part is the Travex, the trade show that brings together buyers and sellers for the doing-business sessions. This will be held at Impact Challenger 2, Muang Thong Thani, from 21-26 January 2008. On 23 January, the ASEAN Tourism Conference will be held at the same venue.
ATF 2008 is open to all suppliers of ASEAN tourism products and services as well as buyers from around the world and such other tourism-related establishments promoting tourist traffic to, among, and within the ASEAN region. ATF buyers include travel wholesalers, retailers, agents, convention and incentive organizers, and other establishments dealing in outbound travel.
Several complimentary pre- and post-tours are being organised by TAT together with Thai Airways International and the private sector to take buyers and the media to various ASEAN destinations in line with the theme "Synergy of ASEAN Towards Dynamic Unity in Diversity."
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