Call To Ease Travel Access In Asean
By Sobrina Rosli

Bandar Seri Begawan -The 10th meeting of Asean tourism ministers and their meeting with tourism ministers of China, Japan and Korea was recently held in Singapore in conjunction with the Asean Tourism Forum 2007.

The meeting gave the ministers the opportunity to share their experiences and best practices to develop Asean into a collective destination, attracting tourists from within and outside the region. Pehin Orang Kaya Setia Pahlwana Dato Seri Setia Dr Awang Ahmad Jumat, the Minister of Industry and Primary Resources, represented Brunei at the meeting.

Among the issues discussed was cooperation between members of Asean on the issue of access to travel among the countries involved.

Senior Asean officials were directed by the ministers during the Senior Transport Official Meeting (STOM) and the Director General of Immigration Official Meeting (DGIM) to agree on issues which can further facilitate travel among Asean countries. '

These issues included, the policy of ‘open Skies’ among As eau, visa tree travel in Asean, making access easy for non Asean nationals in Asean countries and relaxing rules to promote cruise tourism.

Senior officials of Asean were also asked to prepare the main elements for the Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA) which will be inked in 2008. The agreement is aimed at accessing the mobility of professional tourism ism as well as increasing the quality of human resource in the tourism industry.

Ministers also addressed the development of Guidelines of Certification of Asean Tourism Standards that would be distributed to hotels and restaurants in Asean countries.

The Ministers also touched the issue of communications among Asean countries by ensuring flow of accurate information.

In this regard, an Asean Crisis Communications Manual prepared by the Asean Crisis Communication Team was distributed to form the policy of communications in times of crisis.

The Asean Youth Exchange programme was also highlighted during the meetings which contribute to tourism and exposure to cultural diversity. The ministers were called upon to develop further tourism and the youth exchange programme through the Asean Ministerial Meeting on Youth which will be held in July this year. -- Courtesy of The Brunei Times

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