The ASEAN Tourism Strategic Plan 2011-2015, currently being developed, will provide a framework for the region to address the opportunities and challenges facing ASEAN tourism in the coming years. It will be developed according to a series of guiding principles including sustainable development, extensive stakeholder involvement and cooperation with ASEAN's dialogue partners, said the ASEAN Tourism Ministers in a Joint Statement at the end of the 13th Meeting of the ASEAN Tourism Ministers in Brunei Darussalam on 24 January 2010.

The Plan, which will also identify key principles of ASEAN tourism integration towards the establishment of ASEAN Community in 2015, is scheduled to be adopted in Cambodia at the next Ministers Meeting in 2011. The Plan will replace the Roadmap for Integration of the Tourism Sector which will expire this year.

The Ministers further expressed their support for the development of a new ASEAN tourism marketing strategy with the tagline of “Southeast Asia: Feel the Warmth”, which will be a co-brand with the existing ASEAN marketing campaign.

This new tourism marketing strategy will utilise a dynamic and interactive website (www.SoutheastAsia.org) as the main marketing platform highlighting multi-destination travel within ASEAN Member States. It will also showcase small and medium-sized enterprises’ tourism services to a wider audience.

The ASEAN Ministers also convened meetings with their counterparts from the Plus Three countries (China, Japan and the Republic of Korea) and India. The high-level meetings were part of a series of ASEAN-related meetings on tourism, which also included the ASEAN Tourism Forum 2010 and the Meeting of ASEAN National Tourism Organisations.

The Meetings come amidst a well-performing ASEAN tourism sector despite the global economic slowdown. Intra-ASEAN travel was the major contributor with 49 per cent share of 65 million total international visitor arrivals in 2009.