ASEAN sets itself as a tourist destination

ASEAN sets itself as a tourist destination

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN (AFP): The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on Saturday launched an international campaign to market the 10-nation region as a tourism destination.

Tourism ministers from the politically and economically diverse ASEAN group said at a meeting in the Brunei capital that the campaign will highlight the diversity of the region's cultures and attractions.

"We have exotic cultures and offer value for money. This is a concerted effort to promote the region," Sheikh Jamaluddin, director general of Brunei's tourism development department told AFP.

"We basically want to tell the world to come to our region." The Visit Asia Campaign, or VAC as it is to be known, will include ASEAN participation at international travel fairs this year, such as the World Travel Market in London and the International Tourism Exchange in Berlin.

Promotional activities at the fairs will allow ASEAN to reach a wider audience, the ministers said in a statement.

Tourism in Southeast Asia has been hampered by negative images of some ASEAN countries such as Indonesia with ethnic and religious unrest, the Philippines and its kidnappings, Myanmar where the military junta is accused of political oppression, forced labor and killing members of ethnic minorities, and drug and HIV problems in Thailand,

ASEAN also includes Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam.