Kuala Belait was named a 4th ASEAN Clean Tourist City at the ASEAN Tourism Standards Awards ceremony on January 26.
Radisson Hotel Brunei Darussalam was awarded 9th ASEAN Green Hotel and 4th ASEAN MICE Venue (Meeting Room). Also receiving 4th ASEAN MICE Venue (Meeting Room) were The Empire Brunei and An-Naura Hall at Yayasan Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Complex. The Empire Brunei also received 1st ASEAN MICE Venue (Exhibition Venue) while Freme Travel Services Sdn Bhd was named the 4th ASEAN Sustainable Tourism Award (Gastronomy Tourism Theme).
Minister of Primary Resources and Tourism Dato Seri Setia Dr Haji Abdul Manaf bin Haji Metussin headed a Brunei delegation to the 27th Meeting of ASEAN Tourism Ministers (27th M-ATM) and Related Meetings in conjunction with the ASEAN Tourism Forum 2024 (ATF 2024) from January 23 to 26 in Vientiane, Laos.
The delegation comprised Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Primary Resources and Tourism Hajah Tutiaty binti Haji Abdul Wahab and officials from the Tourism Development Department. The 27th M-ATM was preceded by the 59th Meeting of the ASEAN National Tourism Organisations (NTOs) and other Senior Official Meetings with Dialogue Partners.
Themed ‘Quality and Responsible Tourism – Sustaining ASEAN Future’, the meeting emphasised the importance of forging a closer collaboration among the ASEAN member states to ensure the sustainability and resiliency of ASEAN tourism.
The region saw a 153.09 per cent year-on-year increase in international arrivals. The meeting noted that 76.6 per cent of activities under the ASEAN Tourism Strategic Plan (ATSP) 2016-2025 have been implemented and tasked the ASEAN NTOs to start developing post-2025 planning this year.
The meeting agreed to establish an ad-hoc task force comprising representatives appointed by the ASEAN NTOs and the ASEAN Senior Transport Officials Meeting (STOM) to facilitate dialogues with relevant agencies to ensure a more systematic and coherent approach. – James Kon
