Thailand Hosts ASEAN Travel Forum

Thailand is hosting the 37th ASEAN Tourism Forum from 22-26 January at the Chiang Mai Exhibition and Convention Center under the theme “ASEAN: Sustainable Connectivity, Boundless Prosperity”. The largest travel trade event of the ASEAN region is rotated annually among the 10 ASEAN countries, Eturbonews.com reported.  Thailand is hosting the event for the sixth time, but has relocated it for the first time to Chiang Mai as part of its policy to promote secondary destinations, create more jobs in rural areas, ensure a better distribution of tourism earnings and highlight Thailand’s linkages with the Greater Mekong Subregion countries. GMS countries include Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. ATF is the only annual event for both the public and private sectors of ASEAN to get together and discuss tourism issues and trends.