Issues surrounding tourism cooperation and development among ASEAN member states and China, Japan and the RoK were discussed in depth at the 48th Meeting of the ASEAN Plus Three National Tourism Organisations (48th Meeting of the ASEAN +3 NTOs), held on January 27.

Viet Nam takes a proactive approach to promotion, capacity building and innovative cooperation models

Held on the sidelines of the ASEAN Tourism Forum 2026 in Cebu, the Philippines, the 48th Meeting of the ASEAN +3 NTOs provided an opportunity for participating countries to review the progress of ASEAN+3 tourism cooperation to date, while also discussing development orientations and priority actions for the next phase.

Nguyen Trung Khanh, Director General of the Viet Nam National Authority of Tourism, said: “Viet Nam highly values the role and important contributions of China, Japan and the RoK in accompanying and supporting the development of ASEAN tourism. Close ASEAN+3 cooperation has not only contributed to the post-COVID-19 recovery of the tourism sector, but has also created momentum for in-depth growth, improved service quality and enhanced people-to-people exchanges across the region.”

In 2025, Viet Nam welcomed approximately 5.3 million visitors from China, 4.3 million from the RoK and nearly 800,000 from Japan. These impressive figures demonstrate the increasingly close links between the markets, while also reflecting strong traveller confidence in Viet Nam as a safe, friendly destination rich in identity and constantly innovating.

According to Nguyen Trung Khanh, in 2025 China, the RoK and Japan continued to affirm their position as Viet Nam’s key source markets, ranking first, second and fifth respectively among countries with the highest numbers of international arrivals to Viet Nam.

These positive outcomes are the result of sustained improvements in service quality, infrastructure systems and destination management. At the same time, Viet Nam has focused on developing tailored tourism products suited to the tastes and needs of each market, ranging from cultural, heritage, culinary and shopping tourism to wellness tourism, golf and MICE.

Viet Nam has also established an effective bilateral tourism cooperation committee mechanism with Japan and has recorded many tangible benefits from the implementation of specific cooperative activities. On that basis, Viet Nam is ready to exchange views with China and the RoK on the possibility of developing similar cooperation mechanisms, in line with the shared interests and priorities of all parties.

The Director General of the Viet Nam National Authority of Tourism noted that China, the RoK and Japan have also actively accompanied and supported ASEAN in the tourism sector, particularly in promotion and marketing as well as human resource development.

In practice, over the past year, many practical and effective tourism and cultural promotion activities have been carried out through close coordination between Viet Nam and the ASEAN–China Centre, the ASEAN–Japan Centre and the ASEAN–Korea Centre.

Viet Nam highly values the role and important contributions of China, Japan and the RoK in accompanying and supporting the development of ASEAN tourism. Close ASEAN+3 cooperation has not only contributed to the post-COVID-19 recovery of the tourism sector, but has also created momentum for in-depth growth, improved service quality and enhanced people-to-people exchanges across the region.

Nguyen Trung Khanh,
Director General of the Viet Nam National Authority of Tourism

Notably, cooperation programmes with the ASEAN–Korea Centre and the ASEAN–Japan Centre have included concerts and familiarisation trips for key opinion leaders (KOLs). These activities have helped promote destination images, foster people-to-people exchanges and strengthen engagement with target markets.

With a proactive and open spirit, in 2026 Viet Nam hopes to further deepen and substantiate cooperation with all three centres, focusing on joint promotional activities, capacity building, and the implementation of innovative initiatives and cooperation models.

Strengthening ASEAN+3 cooperation

Beyond Viet Nam, other Southeast Asian countries also place great importance on and highly value the proactive and effective spirit of tourism cooperation with the three partners: China, Japan and the RoK.

Philippine Undersecretary for Tourism Verna Esmeralda Buensuceso remarked that tourism is one of the most dynamic sectors of the economy, serving as a bridge between cultures, promoting mutual understanding among nations and creating momentum for sustainable growth. In a world facing multiple, intertwined challenges, strengthening and deepening cooperation mechanisms is regarded as a top priority.

Accordingly, the ASEAN+3 Tourism Cooperation Plan has become a solid platform for substantive dialogue, helping parties jointly overcome challenges and seize new opportunities.

In recent years, visitor flows from China, Japan and the RoK have become a major driving force, making significant contributions to tourism growth across ASEAN member states. In 2024 alone, ASEAN welcomed more than 20 million visitors from China, over 3 million from Japan and more than 9 million from the RoK. These figures are forecast to continue growing strongly in 2025.

Verna Esmeralda Buensuceso said that ASEAN appreciates the tireless efforts of the ASEAN–China Centre, the ASEAN–Japan Centre and the ASEAN–Korea Centre in translating shared cooperation goals into reality. Looking ahead, all parties share the aspiration to build an ASEAN tourism sector that is highly competitive, resilient and inclusive.

Through strengthened partnerships, enhanced cultural exchanges and greater innovation and creativity, the appeal of Southeast Asian destinations will continue to rise, attracting an ever-growing number of visitors from around the world.

At the meeting, the ASEAN Secretariat also provided updates on the implementation of the ASEAN+3 Tourism Cooperation Plan for the 2021–2025 period, as well as orientations for the formulation of the ASEAN+3 Tourism Cooperation Plan for 2026–2030.