ACC Secretary-General Delivered a Speech at the ASEAN Ecotourism Forum 2016

On 22 June 2016, H.E. Mme. Yang Xiuping, Secretary-General of ASEAN-China Centre (ACC), delivered a speech at Session 2 of ASEAN Ecotourism Forum 2016: Collaborative Initiatives of ASEAN Centres: The Way Forward. H.E. Mr. Kim Young-sun, Secretary General of ASEAN-Korea Centre, Mr. Vathouniyom Douangmala, Director of Tourism and Exchange Division of ASEAN-Japan Centre and a representative of ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity also delivered speeches at the Session. ASEAN Tourism Ministers or Deputy Ministers including H.E. Mrs. Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul, Minister of Tourism and Sports of Thailand, Dr. Lim Hong Hin, Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN, Mr. Xu Jing, Director for Regional Programme for Asia and the Pacific of World Tourism Organization, and other guests, around 300 people in all,  attended the Session.

Secretary-General Yang Xiuping introduced ACC’s efforts to promote tourism cooperation including: facilitated the establishment of new platforms for regional inter-governmental exchange and business transactions, organized professional training in tourism in ASEAN countries, promoted tourism resources in various forms in China and ASEAN, namely, shooting documentaries, organizing featured reports, tourism photo contests and ASEAN-China Tourism Cooperation Forum etc. She noted that tourism cooperation had become an essential building block of the ASEAN-China relationship, and played an important role in deepening ASEAN-China relations in all dimensions and enhancing understanding and friendship among the peoples. The 13th Five-Year Plan of China encouraged the development of tourism. The ASEAN Community Vision 2025 highlighted the importance of turning ASEAN into an integrated and high quality tourist destination. The tourism cooperation between China and ASEAN had a broad prospective. She highlighted that ACC would be ready to strengthen collaborative initiatives with governments and the tourism communities of all ASEAN Member States to deepen the cooperation so as to make fruitful achievements.

H.E. Mr. Kim Young-sun, Secretary General of ASEAN-Korea Centre, and Mr. Vathouniyom Douangmala, Director of Tourism and Exchange Division of ASEAN-Japan Centre, briefed on the mandates of the two Centres and their efforts to promote tourism cooperation with ASEAN countries. They expressed their willingness to strengthen communication and coordination with ASEAN countries to actively promote tourism resources of ASEAN countries in various forms to make new progress in enhancing the cooperation. The representative of ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity briefed on its efforts to protect biodiversity of ASEAN countries through cooperation with relevant countries and regional organizations.