Cebu, Philippines – Southeast Asia welcomed around 144 million international visitors in 2025, marking a sustained rebound in tourism, as ASEAN tourism ministers agreed to intensify efforts to market the region as a single, unified destination.
The figures were cited during the 29th Meeting of the ASEAN Tourism Ministers held Friday, Jan. 30, in Cebu, where officials said the strong recovery has allowed the region to shift from post-pandemic rebuilding to long-term growth and competitiveness.
With the conclusion of the ASEAN Tourism Strategic Plan 2016–2025, ministers endorsed a new five-year roadmap for 2026–2030 aimed at strengthening ASEAN’s global tourism brand, improving connectivity and encouraging multi-country travel across Southeast Asia.
The strategy prioritizes joint regional marketing, co-branded campaigns and digitally driven promotions to present ASEAN as a seamless tourism market, rather than a collection of individual destinations.
Officials said the upward trend in visitor arrivals was supported by measures to improve air and sea connectivity, diversify tourism products and strengthen promotional efforts across member states.
Tourism ministers also identified cruise tourism as a key growth area, citing its potential to link multiple ASEAN destinations through a single itinerary.
They called for closer cooperation to improve port infrastructure, streamline travel facilitation and raise service and safety standards across the region.
Beyond numbers, ministers emphasized the importance of sustainable and high-quality tourism, aligning growth with environmental protection and community development to ensure the long-term resilience of the sector.
The meeting reaffirmed ASEAN’s goal of making the region easier to experience as one destination, encouraging travelers to move seamlessly across borders and explore multiple countries in a single trip.
ASEAN tourism leaders agreed that deeper collaboration with the private sector, global online platforms and international partners will be critical in sustaining growth and reinforcing the region’s unified tourism identity.
The Philippines hosted the meeting as ASEAN chairman. The next ASEAN Tourism Ministers meeting will be held in Singapore in January 2027.
