EATOF vows to boost tourism
EATOF vows to boost tourism
YOGYAKARTA (JP): Eight provinces out of nine East Asia Inter-
Regional Tourism Forum (EATOF) founding members issued a joint
declaration here on Monday stating their intention to empower
East Asian tourism by strengthening multilateral relations among
EATOF members.
In their joint declaration, the provinces of Gangwon (Korea),
Cebu (Philippines), Tuv Aimag (Mongolia), Chiang Mai (Thailand),
Tottori Prefecture (Japan), Jilin (China), Yogyakarta (Indonesia)
and Sarawak (Malaysia) agreed to hold a regular annual meeting to
deepen relations among them.
Another founding province, Primorsky (Russia), could not send
its delegation due to internal matters.
"We encourage those member provinces that were unable to
participate in this year's EATOF General Assembly to make every
effort to attend future General Assemblies," the statement said.
The statement, which was read out by Yogyakarta governor
Sultan Hamengkubuwono X, mentioned that EATOF's member provinces
would work together throughout the year to encourage trade,
tourism and investment among the group.
"In addition, local authorities shall seek ways to support and
promote exchange programs among universities or private tourism
sectors," the sultan said.
He said the first stage of the project could be implemented by
establishing bilateral relationships among institutions.
"It can be developed in the form of organizing a consortium
among universities or private tourism sectors," he added.
The participants also agreed to establish an EATOF promotion
booth that will be operate at international travel marts wherever
possible to promote joint marketing of the province members.
The conference was attended by some 60 participants and 200
other tourism stakeholders. Around 70 institutions, including
government offices and tourism stakeholders, participated in the
EATOF travel mart held at the Hyatt Regency Yogyakarta.
EATOF was established in a meeting hosted by Korea's Gangwon
province in September 2000. The nine participating provinces were
recognized as EATOF founders. (23)