CHIANG MAI, Thailand, Jan. 26 (Xinhua) -- Progress has been made in making ASEAN a united and single destination, said Thai Tourism Minister Weerasak Kowsurat during a press conference on Friday after the 21st meeting of ASEAN tourism ministers.
ASEAN refers to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations that groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Weerasak, who chaired the meeting, said the ministers noted the progress in the implementation of the ASEAN Tourism Strategic Plan (2016-2025) where 15 key activities under the Work Plan for 2016-2017 have been completed and the ministers adopted the Work Plan (2018-2019).
He said ASEAN is expected to receive 125 million international visitors, exceeding the target of 121 million to the region set for Visit ASEAN@50.
2017 marked the bloc's 50th anniversary.
For the future, Weerasak said the ministerial meeting had adopted the declaration in four important areas namely cruise tourism, gastronomy tourism, tourism investment and tourism for all, focusing on the development of tourism infrastructure with connectivity in rail, land and aviation to make ASEAN a united, single destination.
When asked about the planned Schengen-style single-visa for ASEAN, Weerasak said they are very positive about it and it is on the right process but still takes time.
