The ASEAN Tourism Association (ASEANTA) has signed an agreement with Malaysia-based analytics and big data company Fusionex to develop ASEANTA Travel Exchange (ATEX), a comprehensive virtual exhibition and engagement platform, to help facilitate an inclusive business environment and provide greater access to new markets.
By leveraging ATEX to pivot from physical to virtual during this pandemic, ASEANTA will be able to seamlessly improve accessibility, connection and engagement while removing the restrictions of time and space through virtual exhibitions, webinars, digital marketing campaigns, and more.
Eddy Krismeidi Soemawilaga, president of ASEANTA, said that the collaboration between ASEANTA and Fusionex will help “take tourism in the region to new levels and to firmly establish (South-east Asia) as one of the most viable and attractive tourism destinations in the world”.
Powered by Fusionex technologies, the platform is expected to go live in 4Q2021, offering a suite of innovative solutions to empower ASEANTA in organising virtual events while driving meaningful and measurable online interactions.
The platform offers an intelligent B2B matchmaking feature that connects local enterprises with global businesses, thereby expanding market reach.
Travel and tourism players can also leverage the platform’s global distribution system to conduct secure and uninterrupted business transactions.
In addition, the platform enables businesses to showcase their offerings via virtual booths, facilitate pitching sessions through livestreaming, provide real-time reporting capabilities as well as performance monitoring and measurement features. It will also allow enterprises to capitalise on AI-powered digital marketing tools to tailor personalised campaigns.
ATEX enables ASEANTA to not only create engaging online events but also generate vital business prospects and develop networking opportunities in a data-driven way.
Nigel Wong, secretary-general at ASEANTA, shared that the association will leverage the platform to organise virtual talks and seminars for its members, with attendees being able to interact with speakers. As well, there will be static travel-related content curated by ASEANTA in a variety of formats.
The ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF) 2022 and its B2B Travex will be hosted by the Cambodian government in Sihanoukville from January 16-22.
Thong Rathasak, chairman of ASEAN National Tourism Organisations and director general for tourism development and international cooperation at Cambodia’s Ministry of Tourism, shared that the ATF 2022 might take on a hybrid format, but nothing is set in stone yet.
Wong shared that the ATEX would complement the B2B travel exchange component by providing industry players with an extended opportunity to continue leveraging the awareness generated about the ASEAN member countries through the ATF and other similar regional events online.
New Zealand plans to allow quarantine-free entry to vaccinated travellers from low-risk countries from early 2022, as part of a phased reopening of its borders that have been shut since last March due to the pandemic.
Prime minister Jacinda Ardern said on Thursday (August 12) that the government will adopt a new individual risk-based approach for quarantine-free travel from the first quarter of 2022.
Vaccinated travellers from low-risk countries can enter the country quarantine-free. Those travelling from medium-risk countries will have to undertake self-isolation or a shorter stay at a quarantine hotel, while those coming from high-risk countries will have to serve a 14-day quarantine.
“We’re simply not in a position to a fully reopen just yet. When we move, we will be careful and deliberate, because we want to move with confidence and with as much certainty as possible,” Ardern said in a speech detailing plans to reconnect New Zealand with the world.
Some vaccinated travellers will be able to participate in a pilot from October through December this year, wherein they can travel and self-isolate at home.
New Zealand has been widely lauded as a success story in combating the coronavirus – the South Pacific nation of five million people has recorded just 2,500 cases and 26 deaths since the pandemic began. But the government has come under increasing pressure to reopen borders as businesses and the public sector struggle with worker shortages.