The tourism industry in Southeast Asia has a slower recovery rate than the world due to the heavy impact of the pandemic as well as the influence of source markets reopening tourism more slowly.
That is important information shared at the ASEAN Festival Tourism Workshop organized by the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism) on December 26 in Hanoi.
ASEAN tourism recovers more slowly than global one. Illustration photo: Thanh Tung/VNS
According to the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), international tourism is on the road to recovery and will reach about 90% of pre-pandemic levels by the end of 2023. Many destinations have recovered and even surpassed pre-COVID-19 arrivals and revenues.
However, the Southeast Asian region is assessed to have a slower recovery rate than the world due to the heavy impact of the pandemic as well as the influence of source markets reopening tourism more slowly. In 2022, ASEAN member countries welcomed 43 million international tourists, only about 30% compared to 2019. Therefore, ASEAN tourism has strengthened cooperation for sustainable development and rapid recovery after the pandemic.
Over the past two years, ASEAN has issued many new policies such as the ASEAN Tourism Marketing Strategy for the period 2021-2025, the COVID-19 Tourism Recovery Plan, the Sustainable Tourism Development Framework for the period after COVID-19, etc. Developing tourism products to enhance the competitiveness of ASEAN destinations is an important content to promote recovery after the pandemic. In particular, "Developing ASEAN Festival Tourism" is a project expected to contribute to diversifying tourism products in the region, promoting connectivity of intra-bloc destinations.
At the workshop, in the role of coordinating the project "Developing ASEAN festival tourism products", experts from the Vietnam National Tourism Administration presented and introduced an overview of festivals in Southeast Asia, the exploitation situation, and proposed solutions to effectively develop festival tourism for ASEAN, including Vietnam.
According to the representative of the Vietnam National Tourism Administration, the ASEAN region is considered a land of festivals. Here, festivals take place all year round, in many places with many different nuances. These can be festivals reflecting the beliefs of worshipping rice, water, fertility, the sun, and ancestor worship. Traditional festivals in Southeast Asia include agricultural and religious festivals, honoring national heroes, tutelary gods, and craft ancestors...
Festival tourism offers tourists the opportunity to explore local culture, traditional cuisine and especially experience unique entertainment activities. Nowadays, many festivals in Southeast Asia have become famous, attracting many tourists from all over the world such as the New Year festival in Cambodia (Chnam Thmei), the water festival, the lantern festival in Thailand, the boat racing festival in Laos, the Bali art festival in Indonesia, the Mid-Autumn Festival in Vietnam... Festival tourism is the shortest way to learn about the spiritual life of ethnic groups in the region. At the same time, festival tours show visitors the most clearly the rich diversity of life in Southeast Asia.
Delegates all agreed that it is necessary to promote ASEAN to become a festival destination, capable of connecting the region and diversifying tours, creating unique attractions. Local tourism management agencies shared the need to seize opportunities to diversify and improve the quality of festival tourism products, creating uniqueness and enhancing the competitiveness of destinations.
Delegates also discussed international experiences and new trends for festival tourism. In addition, there were recommendations and orientations on the roles of relevant parties to effectively manage and exploit festival tourism, ensuring tourism development goes hand in hand with preserving and promoting cultural and heritage values in a sustainable manner./.
Viet Thang
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