Marketing the Southeast Asia Destination Brand: A New Tourism Marketing Strategy and Plan for the ASEAN Region

The initiative was launched in June 2009, with the goal of promoting Southeast Asia as a single destination and attracting high-yield travelers on multi-destination trips. The strategy was developed by Michael Yates, Taramax Consultants, on behalf of Nathan Associates Inc. for review by the United States Agency for International Development. The new strategy recognizes the appeal of Southeast Asia to global travelers and identifies key brand attributes, including the warmth of its people, hospitality, tropical climate, and unique cultural experiences. The strategy targets key segments and markets, including adventurous culture seekers from Australia and the UK, young independent travelers, and cruise travelers. Digital communications and a lively, interactive website are at the heart of the proposed marketing plan, with a win-win partnership with an ASEAN-based travel portal that employs cutting-edge meta-search technology. The strategy also emphasizes the importance of private and public sector partnerships in achieving success. The ACE Project is working closely with the National Tourism Organizations (NTOs) of the 10 ASEAN destinations, the ASEAN Tourism Association (ASEANTA), the ASEAN Secretariat, and other stakeholders to ensure that the strategies and recommendations are practical and sustainable. The Visit ASEAN campaign, launched in 2001, was a previous regional tourism destination marketing and development initiative. The campaign targeted consumers and the travel trade, but its effectiveness was limited due to insufficient media weight and a lack of a permanent, focused, and adequately resourced body to plan, manage, execute, and evaluate the collaborative activity. The new strategy offers a realistic solution, with a destination marketing organization with four staff and a fixed annual budget jointly funded by the ASEAN NTOs, ASEANTA, and the ACE Project. This organization will be responsible for planning, managing, executing, and evaluating the collaborative activity, and will provide a permanent and focused presence for the region's tourism marketing efforts. The strategy also emphasizes the importance of knowledge management, destination branding and marketing, tourism product development, and human resource development. The ACE Project has developed a Tourism Activity Proposal, which identifies 13 proposed interventions or action items across these four themes, with a focus on destination branding and marketing and knowledge management. The new strategy is a critical step in promoting Southeast Asia as a single destination and attracting high-yield travelers on multi-destination trips. With its focus on digital communications, private and public sector partnerships, and a permanent and focused destination marketing organization, the strategy offers a realistic chance of success and a sustainable long-term solution for the region's tourism marketing efforts.