TOURISM

110. The ASEAN Ministers on Tourism met informally in Surabaya in January 1996 in conjunction with the ASEAN Tourism Forum where the Ministers exchanged views on the development of the tourism industry. Among the measures discussed to promote tourism were the establishment of a special lane for ASEAN nationals at immigration counters, the development of a system to facilitate yacht and leisure boat tourism, and the increase of direct air links between secondary cities in ASEAN. The promotion of ASEAN as a single destination for world class conventions and major sports events was also considered.

111. The Tourism Ministers agreed that they would meet during the ASEAN Tourism Forum and endorsed an annual meeting for the ASEAN NTOs. In addition, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar would attend future meetings of ASEAN Tourism Ministers and National Tourism Organizations as observers. With the closure of ATIC in March 1996, cooperation in marketing, research, information dissemination and training would come under the purview of the ASEAN Tourism Association (ASEANTA) see table 5.