The 26th Meeting Of ASEAN Tourism Ministers

The 26th Meeting of ASEAN Tourism Ministers (26th M-ATM) was held on 4 February 2023 in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. H.E. Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno, Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, Republic of Indonesia, chaired the Meeting and H.E. Mrs. Suanesavanh Vignaket, Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism, Lao PDR, was the Vice-Chairperson. The 26th M-ATM was preceded by the 57th Meeting of the ASEAN National Tourism Organisations and other Senior Official Meetings with Dialogue Partners.  

With the theme of “ASEAN: A Journey to Wonderful Destinations”, the Meeting focused its discussion on the progress of the activities under the ASEAN Tourism Strategic Plan (ATSP) 2016-2025.  The Meeting commended the work of the ASEAN National Tourism Organisations in ensuring that the agreed activities in 2022 were implemented accordingly, and encouraged the ASEAN National Tourism Organisations to identify strategic measures and activities to enhance the implementation of the ATSP in the years to come. 

The Meeting commended the further relaxation and removal of travel restrictions by ASEAN Member States following the ASEAN Tourism Forum 2022 held in Preah Sihanouk province, Cambodia. The Meeting noted that based on the preliminary figures of 2022, ASEAN saw a 1,706.61% year-on-year increase in tourism receipts. ASEAN also recorded a 1,222.99% year-on-year increase in international arrivals with the relaxation of ASEAN Member States’ travel restrictions. Hotel rate occupancy also increased by 16% compared to that in 2021.