Capitalizing on Asean tourism

The ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF) observed its 30th year of annual meetings which started in Malaysia in 1981. This time, the venue was Phnom Penh in the Kingdom of Cambodia with so much fanfare and extravaganza from start to finish.

As a cooperative regional effort to integrate the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region into one tourist destination, this year’s meeting boasted an attendance of as many as 2,000 delegates representing the many tourism industry players of its 10 member nations.

The high point in the 2011 ATF was the signing of the ASEAN Tourism Strategic Plan, a five-year program set to expire in 2015. This is a follow-up of the Roadmap for Integration of Tourism Sector, an agreement signed in 2006 and which expired in 2010.

ASEAN countries that include Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam have been trying to make a go of an integrated tourism vision since two decades ago.

Progress has been slow, and a number of issues have been flagged that have contributed to the long, protracted journey that aims to develop an ASEAN tourism brand supportive of each member-countries’ respective tourism programs.

Limited resources

Aside from the fact that a “Visit ASEAN” campaign has literally been dismantled, there are other problems that continue to bug the effort. Foremost in the list of concerns is the limited financial and human resources allocated for tourism promotion by many of the ASEAN members.

Countries like the Philippines whose governments are under tight budget constraints already have difficulty coughing up money that would finance their own respective tourism marketing and promotions campaigns. Additional spending for an integrated ASEAN tourism effort would just be more difficult to justify.

As a the only country on the borders of ASEAN bounded by vast bodies of water, the immediate beneficial fall-out for the Philippines of an integrated ASEAN tourism undertaking would understandably be lesser than for Thailand, Cambodia, Lao, or Vietnam who are part of that landlocked area nearer Europe, the US and even China.

Still, there are definitely some benefits that would accrue from the plan. We have already seen, for example, the entry of another budget airline into Philippine territories, a vote of confidence in our ability to bring in more visitors to our shores.

Liberal air policy

This then only puts more pressure on our government to resolve the open skies debate and once and for all liberalize airline travel between ASEAN countries.

Even with the roadmap signed in 2006, the issue of a more flexible policy governing air traffic had been called for. But an acceptable arrangement has yet to see light, especially with regards the 3rd, 4th, and 5th Freedom Traffic Rights.

The Third Freedom right calls for an airline to carry traffic to a second country, while the Fourth Freedom allows an airline to carry traffic back from a second country. Together, these constitute the round-trip journey from one country to another.

There is nothing too contentious in this except if the originating country or destination country is at a disadvantage, i.e., there is more traffic inbound or outbound. These rights, however, are usually given on a reciprocal basis by the two countries concerned.

The Fifth Freedom right, on the other hand, calls for an agreement to carry traffic to a second and third country. This is often met with a lot of problems because it requires three governments instead of two to come up with an agreement.

Conflicting interests

But the real issue is the use of the Fifth Freedom rights by an airline of a third country who is usually seen as encroaching on the “home market” traffic of the two countries that have granted the rights. Often, some governments opt to restrict the percentage or number of seats that an airline can sell on such.

Much work has been spent to accelerate the timeline for Unlimited (or No Limitations on) the 3rd and 4th Freedom Traffic Rights for scheduled passenger services between all ASEAN cities, and expanding coverage to all ASEAN cities for Unlimited (or No Limitations on) 5th Freedom Traffic Rights for passenger services instead of only between ASEAN capital cities as agreed in the 2006 roadmap.

But the results have not been promising. Under the new 2011 strategic plan, the agreement between ASEAN member-countries has been for increased flexibility that will allow more liberalization of the freedom rights under discussion.

ASEAN single visa system

A single visa system for ASEAN could ease the bureaucratic pressure especially on our immigration authorities through a centralized system. More interesting though would be some progress on a proposal made years ago to liberalize visas in the region by extending the time given to tourists.

We have to accept that, aside from visitors from Europe and the US, a sizeable number of tourists could come from Korea, China and even India. The longer they stay, the better for the country’s tourism business.

Lifting ASEAN tourism standards

The foremost benefit of an integrated program in my mind would be the development of a set of ASEAN tourism standards with a certification process that would bring to world class level marketing programs to attract foreign visitors to member countries.

This would no doubt set iron-clad standards that any interested but hesitating tourist would take into consideration before finalizing his itinerary. In a sense, it evens out the playing field: we all compete on the intrinsic value of the product, i.e., how beautiful our beaches are compared to our neighbors, or how hospitable our tourism workers are.

Long way to go

Of course, we have a long way to go if compared to even Thailand and Indonesia in terms of setting up marketing and promotions themes and campaigns, and more importantly getting results from them. In the case of Thailand, it’s amazing how they’ve managed to bounce back after the unfortunate militant protests and bombings in the middle of Bangkok.