ASEAN Elevates ‘Three Countries, One Destination’ Initiative to Ministerial Level to Boost Cross-Border Tourism

CEBU, Philippines, Feb 2, 2026 (KPT) – The ASEAN Tourism Forum 2026, held alongside the 29th Meeting of ASEAN Tourism Ministers, concluded in Cebu on Saturday with ministers endorsing the elevation of the “Three Countries, One Destination” initiative to the ministerial level, in a bid to strengthen cross-border travel.

Under the shared vision “Navigating our Tourism Future, Together,” the meeting welcomed ASEAN’s tourism recovery and adopted two key frameworks: the ASEAN Tourism Sectoral Plan 2026–2030 and the ASEAN Tourism Marketing Strategy 2026–2030. Both aim to promote quality tourism, foster innovation, and develop human resources, particularly for communities, women and youth.

A notable outcome was the recognition of sub-regional cooperation among Cambodia, Lao PDR and Viet Nam. Ministers agreed to convene the first Cambodia–Lao PDR–Viet Nam Tourism Ministers’ Meeting in 2026, formalizing the “Three Countries, One Destination” vision to present the sub-region as a unified travel experience.

The meeting also noted the Cambodia–Lao PDR–Myanmar–Viet Nam Foods Festival and a seminar on on-land tourism and cross-border travel facilitation held in Cambodia in 2025, encouraging similar events to boost intra- and inter-regional tourism flows and reinforce ASEAN as a single destination.

On the sidelines of the forum, the ASEAN Tourism Standards Awards 2026 were presented across nine categories, with 211 awards in total. Cambodia received 27 awards.

It was further announced that the 30th ASEAN Meeting of Tourism Ministers will take place in Singapore in January 2027.