The 50th Meeting of ASEAN National Tourism Organizations (NTOs), the 35th Meeting of ASEAN Plus Three NTOs and related meetings were held in Siem Reap, Cambodia from 8 to 12 July, 2019. The series of meetings brought together around 100 delegates including the heads of ASEAN NTOs and officials of ASEAN Secretariat, ASEAN-China Centre (ACC), ASEAN-Japan Centre (AJC), ASEAN-Korea Centre (AKC), international and regional tourism organizations as well as travel associations. H.E. Mr. Pengiran Haji Kamalrudzaman bin Pengiran Haji Mohd Ishak, Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Primary Resources and Tourism of Brunei Darussalam and H.E. Mr. Thong Rathasak, Director- General of Ministry of Tourism of Cambodia, jointly chaired the 50th ASEAN NTOs Meeting. Ms. Kong Roatlomang, Director of Education, Culture and Tourism Division of ACC attended relevant meetings from 11 to 12 July 2019, during which she delivered a presentation.

Taking full advantage of this opportunity, the delegates broadly exchanged views on the tourism development strategies and challenges facing the region and the world at large. During the meetings, Director Kong Roatlomang delivered a detailed presentation, introducing the mandate and role of ACC. Through colorful pictures and videos, she shared with the other delegates the latest ASEAN-China tourism figures, major activities conducted by ACC in the first half of the year 2019 and the upcoming activities in the second half of this year. The flagship projects co-organized by ACC and its partners, such as Chinese Language Training for Chinese Tour Guide Teachers (Siem Reap), One-Day Tourism Seminar on “China-Ready” (Mandalay and Bangkok) and the 4th ASEAN Gourmet Festival (Beijing) deeply impressed all the tourism officials and experts from the ASEAN Member States. The various events supported or attended by ACC, such as Xi’an Silk Road International Tourism Expo (XSRITE), Asian Culture and Tourism Exhibition (Beijing), the 3rd Annual Assembly of China-ASEAN Tourism Education Alliance (CATEA) & International Forum on China-ASEAN Tourism Education 2019 (Jakarta) further showcased ACC’s endeavour to promote people-to-people linkage and practical cooperation between ASEAN and China. The chairpersons and the heads of ASEAN NTOs appreciated ACC’s efforts to promote sustainable tourism development in the countries of ASEAN.

Director Kong Roatlomang was also invited to attend the 35th Meeting of ASEAN Plus Three NTOs on 12 July. On behalf of the Culture and Tourism Ministry of China, Mr. Zhong Jifa, First Secretary of Chinese Embassy in Cambodia attended and briefed on the latest development of tourism cooperation between ASEAN and China.

During the meetings, ACC representatives had extensive exchanges with the ASEAN NTOs on potential cooperation projects, and explored effective ways to conduct joint activities in the field of tourism in ASEAN and China, so as to advance the tourism cooperation to contribute to the building of a tourism community of a shared future with mutual benefits.