Under the theme “ASEAN – The Power of One”, the 38th edition of the ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF) was a success, being held at Ha Long City, Vietnam, from January 14 to 18.
Around 1,500 delegates, including 145 international and local media, came together at the Quang Ninh Exhibition of Planning and Expo Center (QNEPEC) for TRAVEX, while the ASEAN Tourism Conference, ATF 2019 opening ceremony, Tourism ministers’ press conference and ATF 2019 closing ceremony were held at the FLC Ha Long Bay Resort.
On January 15, there was a complimentary pre-show half day cruise at the scenic Ha Long Bay and also a complementary pre-show half day tour to Yen Tu Mountain for all delegates.
In the limestone caves, one could see the stalactites and stalagmites of highest aesthetic and geological values. Ha Long Bay covers an area with 1,969 islands and it was declared as a Natural World Heritage by the UNESCO in 1994. There are also a myriad of islands in various sizes emerging from the seawater, shaped and sculptured by wind and water over millions of years such as the Incense Burner Islet and Fighting Cock Islet.
With compliments from the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism, international media was invited to the largest and most established International Travel Expo (ITE) in Vietnam and the Mekong Sub-region to be held on September 5-7 at the Saigon Exhibition & Convention Center in Ho Chi Minh City.
The ASEAN Tourism Conference on “Connecting heritages for ASEAN tourism development in the digital age” included presentations by Peter DeBrine on sustainable tourism, Seul Ki Lee on digital technology and connectivity along with Con Apostolopoulos from NatGeo, on smart technologies and creative tourism.
Representatives from Vietnam, Myanmar and Lao PDR spoke about their experiences in heritage tourism developments.
There were also 11 media briefings and the first media briefing was given by Vietnam.
Tags: ASEAN Tourism
