Finally, the leaders of ASEAN tourism have come to their senses and admitted that their promotion of ASEAN as a tourism destination may have been in vain. I am not suggesting that the hundreds of thousands of dollars and energy spent have been on the Visit ASEAN tourism promotion campaign has been completely worthless, but perhaps misunderstood.
As difficult as it may be for those of us that live and work in Southeast Asia to recognise, ASEAN means very little to the average person in Europe, the Middle East or the Americas. Yes, the Association of Southeast Nations is an august body that provides leadership on issues ranging from trade to regional peace and prosperity. The problem stems from the fact that ASEAN is an association of 10 member countries, not a place. Therefore, the statement Visit ASEAN taken at face value would actually mean ‘to visit the ASEAN Secretariat which has its headquarters in Jakarta, Indonesia’.
Of course we all know that what is in fact meant by Visit ASEAN is to inspire people to visit the many tourism destinations of the ASEAN member countries.
Fortunately, this gap in logic was recognised during the recent ATF meetings in Hanoi when the decision was made to move away from branding tourism in the 10-member countries of ASEAN under in a political grouping context and moving to a more accurate geographic depiction of Southeast Asia.
The move is sure to have some remarkable outcomes. Southeast Asia has become a household name in the West for a variety of reasons: it’s rich colonial past, the Vietnam and Greater IndoChina war of the 60′s and 70′s, and even the Lonely Planet guidebook which has become the favored form of travel advice for travellers to Southeast Asia. Finally, consumers will have a clear connection with the collaborative regional marketing efforts of Southeast Asia’s national tourism boards.