ASEAN tourism promises brighter prospects amid global tourism boom : Najib

Southeast Asian tourism is moving towards a brighter future according to the Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak. He said while the global tourism outlook is bright, the

growth prospects of the ASEAN tourism industry are quite substantial.

 
“Inbound tourists to Southeast Asia region is projected to register an increase of 5.1% per annum, which is higher than the global average annual growth rate of 3.3% for the period of 2010 to 2030,” Najib said while officially launching the ASEAN Tourism Forum 2014 (ATF).

 
Najib mentioned a study from the UNWTO citing the projected tourism figures and its growth from 2010 to 2030. According to the UNWTO figures, Southeast Asia will witness tourist arrivals from 69.9 million in 2010 to 187 million in 2030.

 
“This reflects the dynamism and attractiveness of ASEAN countries as a tourist region,” said Najib.

He said international tourist arrivals, on the other hand, are expected to increase from 940 million in 2010 to 1.8 billion in 2030. This accounts for an expansion in market size of 900 million international tourists in 2030.

Travelling brings people into contact with each other, while offering enjoyable and learning experiences for tourists. This fosters greater understanding and builds friendship between local communities and people from diverse backgrounds, lifestyles, culture and heritage. It also contributes towards peace, stability and solidarity, which are the basic building blocks for the tourism industry to flourish.

“Tourism is widely acknowledge as a star industry and one of the fastest growing economic sectors in the world,” he said, highlighting the surpassing of the 1 billion mark in the world-wide international tourist arrivals and overall tourist receipts exceeding US$1 trillion for the first time in 2002.

Nazib added that ASEAN countries are preparing well to lead the global tourism industry. Implementation of innovative ideas, strategic trust among neighbouring countries and an urge to experiment are some of the driving forces. Aside from that, Najib also said tourism is also vital for the socio-cultural benefits as it promotes people to people connectivity- one of the key strategies towards achieving the ASEAN Community by 2015.