Articles Category: Environment

The annual ASEAN Tourism Awards, presented at the ASEAN Tourism Forum, recognise top tourism performers based on standards developed by ASEAN. The recipients of the 2025 ASEAN Tourism Awards were as follows: 30 establishments for the ASEAN Homestay Awa

Viet Nam’s tourism sector has staged a remarkable post-pandemic recovery, emerging as one of Southeast Asia’s fastest-growing destinations. Following the reopening in 2022, international arrivals rose from 3.7 million in 2022 to approximately 17.6 mill

As Timor-Leste formally accedes to ASEAN as the organisation’s 11th member, tourism stands as a cornerstone of our nation’s economic transformation. Our vision is clear: to develop a sustainable, inclusive, and well-managed tourism sector that leverage

Tourism is recognised as one of the sectors that has been dramatically affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic has profoundly reshaped tourist behaviour, giving rise to several emerging trends that are likely to defi ne the future of the touris

Singapore has unveiled tourism 2040, a bold vision for its tourism sector to become a global hub for innovation and sustainable tourism growth. as part of this vision, the city-state projects tourism receipts to reach between 47 billion and 50 billion

The nature of tourism has traditionally focused on international tourists who travel beyond their usual environment for leisure, business, or cultural experiences. This cross-border movement is a key driver of the global tourism economy, as internation

As the Lao PDR assumes the Chairpersonship of ASEAN and your Ministry leads the ASCC, could you share Lao PDR’s top priorities for the ASCC?

Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland, first woman Prime Minister of Norway, pioneered the concept of sustainable development and shaped its early agenda. She is a founding member of The Elders, the group of independent global leaders founded by Nelson Mandela in

Tourism has been one of the hardest- hit sectors by the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic. Secretary Romulo-Puyat talks to The ASEAN about the pandemic’s impact on the Philippines’ tourism industry, on jobs and businesses, and how the country is working towa

Former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon reflects on his 10-year tenure as chief diplomat and development advocate, and the role that mutlilateralism plays in addressing ongoing and emerging global challenges.

Hugh Lim, Executive Director of Centre for Liveable Cities, weighs in on what it takes to build pandemic-proof and resilient cities based on the practices that worked and deficiencies that emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic. He discusses the benefits

ASEAN Secretary-General Dato Lim Jock Hoi talks to The ASEAN on the qualities and benefits of smart cities, as well as the ongoing initiatives to support the region’s 26 major cities in developing, updating, and implementing their smart city action pla

Bryan Koh’s love for Southeast Asian cuisine has led him on an intense food trail to record the lesser-known cuisines of the region that may soon be forgotten.

Long before experts sounded the alarm bells on depleting mangrove forests, Roberto Ballon, fondly called “Ka Dodoy,” and his fledgling group of fishermen were already knee-deep planting mangrove trees in their coastal community of Concepcion in the Mun

Southeast Asia’s enduring tradition of handwoven textiles took centre stage at the recently held TENUN Fashion Week. This inaugural event was held online in the trend of digital fashion weeks as a response to COVID-19 restrictions. It was organised by

Miguel “Mike” Alcazaren wears many artistic hats— animator, filmmaker, screenwriter, and comic book series creator. He began his career as an animator, co-founding a stop motion animation company with his brothers in 1989. The company is the first of i

Freelance documentary photographer Joshua Irwandi became the talk of the town when his photograph of a solitary plastic-wrapped corpse of a suspected COVID-19 victim in an Indonesian hospital was published by the National Geographic in 2020. “The Human

In 2012, Thao Vu started her sustainable fashion brand, Kilomet109, a local label that prides itself on applying traditional methods into contemporary design and localising its supply chain. She aimed to set an example for other companies to follow. Ki