(15/02/24) Rotating alphabetically between the ten member countries that make up ASEAN, the annual ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF) traditionally takes place in January and is one of the most important yearly travel trade shows and conferences for those who sell the region.
This year, it was the beautiful and still relatively undiscovered country of Laos that was the host. The main ATF events took place in Vientiane, the capital city, and from there many of the delegates went on post-mart trips to experience places like Nam Pien, Vang Vieng and Luang Prabang.
Luang Prabang is a treasure trove of important historical and cultural buildings. Picture by Steven Howard of TravelNewsAsia.com
The post-mart trips not only allow delegates to see for themselves what a destination has to offer, but also allow the host country to show off new infrastructure developments such as the recently opened highway between Vientiane and Vang Vieng, which has cut the travel time by road from about 4 hours down to just 1 hour, as well as the new high-speed train service that operates between Vientiane, Vang Vieng and Luang Prabang.
The ATF is also used by each member country to update international travel trade media on the latest visitor arrival numbers, tourism revenue, targets moving forward, new visa strategies, air connectivity and any other new developments and projects that they wish to promote.
Below you will find eight of the nine press conferences that were held during the ATF 2024 in Vientiane, Laos. The two which are missing are Brunei, which cancelled its press conference, and Indonesia to whom Travel News Asia would like to sincerely apologise, as we experienced multiple memory card problems that stopped us recording their media briefing. Permintaan maaf kami yang tulus, we will make it up to you, Indonesia, we promise! 🙏
Whilst nearly all the press conferences this year were good quality, Thailand’s was probably the most informative and professional, followed closely by Myanmar and then Vietnam. Why? Those three provided the most statistics and up to date information in a concise and easy to understand format.
In addition to coverage of the below NTO press conferences, Travel News Asia conducted 9 exclusive video interviews with VIPs at the ASEAN Tourism Forum 2024 which are all featured on separate pages.
The ASEAN Tourism Forum 2025 will take place in Johor Bahru, Malaysia from 19-25 January 2025.
NTO Press Conferences from the ASEAN Tourism Forum 2024 in Vientiane, Laos Thailand Tourism Press Conference at the ASEAN Tourism Forum 2024 in Vientiane, Laos
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Myanmar Tourism Press Conference by Tin Myo Aung, Deputy Director – Ministry of Hotels and Tourism at ATF 2024
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Vietnam Tourism Press Conference at ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF) 2024 in Vientiane, Laos
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Laos Tourism Press Conference at the ASEAN Tourism Forum 2024 in Vientiane, Lao PDR
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Malaysia Tourism Press Conference at the ASEAN Tourism Forum 2024 in Vientiane, Laos
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Philippines Tourism Press Conference at the ASEAN Tourism Forum 2024 in Vientiane, Laos
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Cambodia Tourism Press Conference on 24 January at the ASEAN Tourism Forum 2024 in Vientiane, Laos
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Singapore Tourism Press Conference by Kwan Su Min, Director Communications Marketing Group, STB
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See also: Nine Exclusive Video Interviews with VIPs at ASEAN Tourism Forum 2024 in Vientiane, Laos.
Latest exclusive video interviews: Munich Airport (MUC) – Interview with Michael Haeffner, Director Route and Pax Development; Japan Tourism, World Expo 2025 and Japan Expo 2025 – Interview with Akira Watabe of JNTO; Perth Airport (PER) in Western Australia – Interview with Stephanie Juszkiewicz, SVP; U-Tapao Airport (UTP) Rayong / Pattaya, Thailand – Interview with Ampika Chadawong; Sabah Tourism Board – Interview with Julinus Jeffery Jimit, CEO; Saudi Arabia’s Air Connectivity Program – Interview with Rashed Alshammari, VP Commercial; Berlin Airport (BER) – Interview with Simon Miller, Senior Manager Market Intelligence; Cam Ranh Airport (CXR) in Nha Trang, Vietnam – Interview with Le Thi Hong Minh; Mercure Langkawi Pantai Cenang Interview with Jasmine Keh, Hotel General Manager; Standard to Open Residences in Hua Hin and Phuket, Thailand; Video Interview with Amar Lalvani, Executive Chairman; 9 Exclusive Video Interviews from ASEAN Tourism Forum 2024 in Vientiane, Laos; 8 NTO Press Conferences from ASEAN Tourism Forum 2024 in Vientiane, Laos; 13 HD Video Interviews from World Travel Market 2023 in London, England; 5 HD Video Interviews from APG World Connect 2023 in Monaco, France; 15 HD Video Interviews from Routes World 2023 in Istanbul, Türkiye; and Electric Airport Taxis at Almaty Airport (ALA) in Kazakhstan – HD Video Interview with CEO.
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