Senior officials and representatives from the tourism ministries and agencies of Vietnam and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member countries gathered in Ho Chi Minh City on May 3 for a five-day meeting to discuss cooperation plans aiming to accelerate the Association's tourism integration.
The five sessions cover such topics as marketing, tourism investment promotion, tourism standards, human resource development and tourism information.
The delegates, and representatives would also discuss tourism promotion programs, aiming to set up common tourism service standards and attract more foreigners.
Notably, standards of tourism-related occupation titles among the ASEAN will also be on the agenda, with a focus on a draft Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Mutual Recognition, which is considered a platform to help accelerate mutual usage of tourism laborers among ASEAN members. The MoU is scheduled to be signed in late 2006.
Concerning tourism investment promotion, participants will touch upon the organization of tourism investment forums and exchanges of information and experiences in luring infrastructure investment.
Discussion would also concentrate on the establishment of a tourism brochure.
These sessions, hosted by the Vietnam National Tourism Administration, are parts of the ASEAN cooperation framework. They are scheduled to end on May 7.
ASEAN member countries include Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Up till now, Vietnam, which officially became an ASEAN member in 1995 has exempted entry visas for six ASEAN member countries.
Presently, the number of tourists from ASEAN nations to Vietnam remains high. In the first four months of this year, Vietnam estimated to welcomed more than 217,460 ASEAN arrivals, accounting for 16.8 per cent of the total figure of foreign visitors to the country during the period.
Labour, Young People
Vietnamese
