The 20th Meeting of the ASEAN Plus Three (ASEAN, China, Japan, and the Republic of Korea) Tourism Ministers was held on 5 February 2021, in conjunction with the 24th Meeting of ASEAN Tourism Ministers (M-ATM), through video conferencing. The Meeting was co-chaired by H.E. Dr. Thong Khon, Minister of Tourism, Cambodia and H.E. Mr. Xu Zhang, Vice Minister, Ministry of Culture and Tourism of China. The Meeting was preceded by the 38th Meeting of ASEAN Plus Three (APT) National Tourism Organisations (NTOs) held on 3 February 2021.
The Ministers noted that international visitors to the APT region in 2020 had sharply declined by approximately 81.5 per cent when compared to 2019. The Ministers exchanged information and views on the COVID-19 impact and mitigation measures undertaken by the APT members and discussed strategic approaches to revitalise the APT tourism cooperation by focusing on recovery efforts and close collaboration in implementing mutually beneficial programmes and activities. In this regard, the Ministers endorsed the APT Tourism Cooperation Work Plan 2021-2025, which focuses on strengthening the APT tourism cooperation in the next 5 years and prioritises the recovery of tourism in the APT region. The Ministers tasked the APT NTOs to explore innovative ways to revitalise the tourism sector in the post-COVID-19 pandemic in collaboration with all stakeholders including the private sector and the ASEAN Centres in China, Japan and the Republic of Korea.
