On 22 June 2016, the opening ceremony of the ASEAN Ecotourism Forum was held in Pakse, Lao PDR. Around 400 guests were invited including H.E. Prof. Dr. Bosengkham Vongdara, Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism of Lao PDR, H.E. Dr. Bounthong Divixay, Governor of Champasak Province of Lao PDR, Ministers or Deputy Ministers of Tourism of Thailand, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore and Viet Nam, H.E. Dr. Lim Hong Hin, Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN, Mr. Xu Jing, Director for Regional Programme for Asia and the Pacific of UNWTO, H.E. Mme. Yang Xiuping, Secretary-General of ASEAN-China Centre, H.E. Mr. Kim Young-sun, Secretary-General of ASEAN-Korea Centre, representatives of ASEAN-Japan Centre and other guests from tourism sectors and relevant international organizations.
In his speech, Governor Bounthong Divixay extended a warm welcome to all the guests attending the Forum. With a brief introduction of the social-economic development of Champasak Province, he wished that more tourists could visit Champasak Province and thus further strengthen people-to-people exchanges among countries in the region.
Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN Lim Hong Hin outlined the plans and actions taken by ASEAN in promoting tourism development and cooperation. He noted that ecotourism was significant to the building of ASEAN Community and the realization of the ASEAN Economy Community Vision 2025. He hoped that all the participants of the Forum could have in-depth exchange of views on promoting ecotourism for the sustainable development of ASEAN countries and the well-beings of their people.
Director Xu Jing briefed the participants on the developments of international and Asia Pacific tourism markets, as well as the work done by UNWTO on ecotourism. He said that Asia Pacific, with a dense population and fast economic growth, enjoyed big potential in tourism development. Harnessing this potential required a coordinated effort by all tourism stakeholders to increase and raise awareness of the contribution of tourism to sustainable development.
In his opening speech, Minister Bosengkham Vongdara said that this was the 1st ASEAN Ecotourism Forum since the establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community and it was appropriate and timely for ASEAN to join hands to realize ASEAN Vision 2025 and ASEAN Tourism Strategic Plan 2016-2025, according to which, ASEAN would be a quality tourism destination by 2025, offering a unique and diverse ASEAN experience. Ecotourism was a sustainable form of tourism that enabled tourists to experience and appreciate nature as well as understand the rich biodiversity of the region that sustained a healthy ecosystem. Ecotourism could also help generate socio-economic benefits for the local communities living in harmony with nature. The Pakse Declaration on ASEAN Roadmap for Strategic Development of Ecotourism Clusters and Tourism Corridors would set a foundation for an ASEAN coordinated roadmap to strategically identify, plan and develop a trans-regional network of ecotourism sites, linked to major intra-ASEAN transportation routes.
After the opening ceremony, ACC Secretary-General Yang Xiuping, together with Minister Bosengkham Vongdara and other guests visited the Green Tourism Exhibition Booths, and interacted with representatives of tourism sectors and private companies.
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