Nguyen Thi Thanh Huong, deputy head of the marketing department of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT), told the Daily on January 10 VNAT, the tourism authorities of HCMC, Danang, Phu Yen and Nghe An, and around 40 travel firms and hotels would join the event in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh from January 15 to January 21.

The Vietnamese delegation will showcase Vietnamese tourism products and services, and work with foreign buyers at the ATF Travex, a three-day travel trade mart set for January 19.

ASEAN member countries are among the main source markets of the domestic tourism sector along with China, Europe, and Northeast Asia. Tourist arrivals from ASEAN, mostly Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Cambodia, have also been on the rise in the past two years.

Cambodia is a case in point, with around 254,600 Cambodians visiting Vietnam in 2010, up 87% year-on-year.

The yearly forum will be attended by the 10 ASEAN countries to seek to promote ASEAN as a tourist destination. This year it goes with the theme “A World of Wonders and Diversity” and features other activities such as conference and travel exhibitions.

The ASEAN Tourism Conference will look into topics such as ecotourism and sustainable tourism in the region and management of tourism services in heritage sites.

According to a statement of the organizing committee, over 500 exhibition booths are occupied and around 1,000 buyers have put their names down to join the event.