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www.travelweekly-asia.com 4 | ITB ASIA OFFICIAL DAILIES cover story The Association of South-east Asian Nations (ASEAN) has revealed further details of its Visit ASEAN@50 Golden Jubilee celebrations and introduced the partners who will be supporting events across the region in 2017. They include Air Asia, which has a network of 140 routes within South-east Asia, MasterCard and ASEANTA, the ASEAN Tourism Association. The new campaign will promote the twin objectives of commemorating the 50th anniversary of ASEAN in 2017, and embracing South-east Asia as a single and united, yet diverse, tourism destination. "This campaign is a platform for everyone to work together to promote the 10 member nations of ASEAN," said Wardi bin Haji Mohammad Ali, chairperson of the VISITASEAN@50 campaign. The partners will boost the campaign by implementing a range of promotions, raising awareness through ASEAN and South-east Asia brand building, and driving travel bookings, especially for trips to more than one South-east Asia destination. MasterCard will embark on its largest travel campaign to date for the ASEAN region, working with tourism partners. Cardholders globally will be offered exclusive experiences, such as dining with a 3-star Michelin chef on a luxury yacht in Singapore. Further objectives of the Visit ASEAN@50 campaign include raising international visitor arrivals to South- east Asia from 109 million in 2015 to 121 million by the end of 2017 and increasing tourism receipts from US$75 billion in 2014 to US$83 billion, also by the end of 2017. A key initiative of the Golden Jubilee celebrations will be the publication of VISIT ASEAN@50 KICKS OFF HUGE YEAR OF TOURISM PROMOTION BY IAN JARRETT Robin Walker, head of information and analysis, International SOS and Control Risks, said there are pivotal areas to be addressed by the tourism and MICE industries. "MICE organisers' primary focus is to promote a destination as the most suitable venue to host an event. However, as the world becomes uncertain with the need to address incidents with medical and security implications, industry players need to go beyond selling a destination, to develop plans that include medical and security travel risk mitigation. It is so important that businesses and organisers do not wait until the next crisis to happen before putting a support plan and network in place." In this context, International SOS focuses on technology as an enabler. This ensures their clients – managers and travellers – receive assistance on the go wherever they an ASEAN Tourism Hall of Fame, paying tribute to the industry pioneers who built travel and tourism in the region. Key target markets for ASEAN's 50th anniversary tourism campaign will be long-haul markets such as Europe, Middle East and North America, as well as intra-ASEAN, China, Japan, Korea, India and Australia. The three ASEAN Centres in China, Japan and Korea will be supporting the Golden Jubilee with a raft of initiatives, including art, food and cultural events that draw attention to ASEAN nations. At World Travel Market in London in November, the VISIT ASEAN@50 campaign will reveal 50 special tourism products and trips that will form one of the key pillars of the overall campaign. The VISIT ASEAN@50 campaign will be launched officially at the ASEAN Tourism Forum in Singapore on January 18, 2017 and will run till December 31, 2017. E ight out of 10 travellers are concerned about their safety while travelling overseas, and 80 percent of senior management professionals would have experienced a medical problem while overseas, shared Tan Mui Huat, president and chief executive officer, Asia, International SOS. These indications set the precedence for a heightened awareness of risk management measures. According to the latest statistics by Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), Asia Pacific is projected to maintain its current strong growth with 40 percent of the global market share, with China leading the pack with a forecasted growth of 10.1 percent in 2016. The top three fasting growing markets as of 2015 are: Vietnam at 9.4 percent; India at 10.7 percent; and China at 10.1 percent. Robin Walker "This campaign is a platform for everyone to work together to promote the 10 member nations of ASEAN." – WARDI BIN HAJI MOHAMMAD ALI, CHAIRPERSON, VISITASEAN@50 CAMPAIGN news highlights Despite indications of a recession in 2017, the statistics for ASEAN look healthy, backed by solid investment in travel and tourism infrastructure. According to the World Travel & Tourism Council, travel and tourism contributes to 12.4 percent of GDP, which is nearly four percent above that of most other regions, and which is significantly propelled by business travel. With the recent series of health hazards and terrorism acts afflicting the region, Asia's corporate warriors face a double-edged sword of managing booming business opportunities across the globe along with dangers that lie in their path. The situation has forced corporate planners to pay closer attention to their duty of care programmes. Injecting further wind to the sails is the projected 50 percent growth in the mobile workforce by 2020. are. Walker highlighted that in an incident such as the Paris shooting, managers and travellers receive alerts in 20 minutes from the moment the first shots are fired. Providing preventive programmes and emergency assistance form the foundation of International SOS's work. As a medical and travel security risk services company, International SOS assists corporate clients with a stable of doctors and security specialists in more than 1,000 locations in 90 countries. ITB Asia's inaugural MICE day emphasised travel safety and risk management, with the appointment of the first Official Medical & Travel Security partner for the show, International SOS. Delegates to ITB Asia have access to an online platform and mobile app with critical information on the latest country- specific health and security risks. "We need to go beyond selling a destination, to develop plans that include medical and security travel risk mitigation." – ROBIN WALKER, HEAD OF INFORMATION AND ANALYSIS, INTERNATIONAL SOS AND CONTROL RISKS PHOT0 CREDIT: ISTOCK

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