The Visit ASEAN@50 tourism campaign was launched by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations or ASEAN on 6th September 2016 and the region wide campaign was unveiled by the 10 ASEAN heads of state at the ASEAN Summit 2016 in Vientiane, Laos.
The tourism campaign was also in line with a mission to promote the twin objectives of commemorating the 50th anniversary of ASEAN in 2017, and embracing the ASEAN region of Southeast Asia as a single and united, yet diverse, tourism destination.
At the ASEAN Summit 2016, it was also highlighted that objectives of the Visit ASEAN@50 campaign include;
Increasing international visitor arrivals to Southeast Asia from 108.9 million in 2015 to 121 million by the end of 2017
Increasing tourism receipts from USD75 billion in 2014 to USD83 billion, also by the end of 2017
Visit ASEAN Year 2017
The ASEAN Countries
Visit ASEAN@50
Multiple activities and promotions will be announced to drive the Visit ASEAN@50 campaign while partners will be revealed at the 2016 ITB Asia travel industry show in Singapore in October. Other promotions include special travel experiences and offers that will be announced at the World Travel Market 2016 in London this November.
Key target markets for ASEAN’s 50th anniversary tourism campaign in 2017 will be long-haul markets which include;
Europe
Middle East
Australia
North America
China
Japan
Korea
India
ASEAN Heads of state during the launching of Visit ASEAN@50
Visit ASEAN Year 2017
The ASEAN Tourism Competitiveness Committee, which is responsible for the tourism campaign implementation with partners has also announced that planned ASEAN@50 marketing activities will include:
VisitASEAN@50 official launch at the ASEAN Tourism Forum early January 2017 in Singapore
Media familiarization trips (FAM Trips) showcasing ASEAN connectivity and multi-country travel routes
Special tour packages with offers, special airfares, shopping discounts for travel in 2017 (details to be revealed at WTM London, November 2016)
Campaign promotion in international travel trade shows in key source markets
Cooperative marketing programs with travel, media and airline partners (to be announced at ITB Asia, October 2016)
Print and online advertising, as well as TV, video and promotions
Social media campaigns to enhance consumer engagement
Promotional programs by ASEAN’s national tourism offices targeting trade, consumer and MICE markets throughout 2017
For more information, you can visit the official ASEAN Tourism Website where you can get full details about what is happening in and around the ASEAN region. Alternatively, you can also check out the GoAsean website for more travel information.
Meanwhile for Tourism Malaysia, the directive will be to go along with the Visit ASEAN campaign and promote Malaysia as one of the ASEAN destinations. This is purely due to the tourism budget cuts in Malaysia and there is no tourism agenda for Malaysia in 2017. however events listed in the calendar will still go on in Malaysia.
Visit ASEAN 2017 is the 50th anniversary tourism campaign and is part of the ASEAN Tourism Strategic Plan 2016-2025, which was adopted by the association’s tourism ministers in Manila in January 2016 and in line with this, the Visit ASEAN@50 Tourism Campaign is all set to enhance the Southeast Asia tourism economy.