By Dean Aubrey Caratiquet

Leveraging the unique offerings of each ASEAN member state that continue to attract many visitors annually, the Second ASEAN Tourism Ministers’ Retreat on Tuesday brought together ASEAN delegates and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to work on ways forward for boosting tourism in the region.

This became the focal point of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Tourism Investment Showcase, which gathered both parties under one roof to forge ahead with initiatives that go beyond increasing tourist numbers, but also aim to extend their stay and increase spending that will help contribute to the bottomline of local economies.

Southeast Asia recorded 147 million international tourist arrivals, which brought in USD 414 billion, equivalent to 14% gross domestic product of the region that also helped in generating 46 million jobs.

Deputy Secretary General for ASEAN Community Affairs H.E. Nararya Soeprapto said in a statement, “The strong regional demand gives our tourism sector an important foundation of resilience, while creating opportunities for greater connectivity, multi-destination travel, and new tourism products across Southeast Asia.”

Open for further growth

Meanwhile, the Department of Tourism (DOT) expressed optimism that the Investment Showcase would open doors for growth of enterprises through public-private sector collaborations within the 11-member bloc.

DOT Assistant Secretary Gissela Marie Romualdez-Quisumbing said in her speech, “It allows us to view our destinations not only through the eyes of a traveler, but also from the perspective of an investor, a development partner, and most importantly, of the communities that stand to benefit from sustainable tourism development.”

For its part, the ADB expressed its support for the implementation of the ASEAN Tourism Sector Plan 2026-2030, pledging to allocate USD 30 billion to support ASEAN key priorities—with USD 3 billion of the total amount at its disposal prepared for 2027.

At the ADB Tourism Investment Outlook, the regional multilateral financial institution emphasized the use of private capital, formation of investable projects, and coordination between government, local sectors, and private groups as key to maximizing the tourism potential of all countries in the region.

ADB Philippine Country Director Andrew Jeffries said in his speech, “ASEAN needs to capture the benefits from this [tourism opportunity] and it requires moving from ambition to implementation and from investment concepts to investment execution.” (with report from Gab Villegas | PTV News)

jpv