For the many Chinese travelers attracted to the exotic nature of Southeast Asia, a new option may be in the horizon. After years of developing and promoting the traditional “新馬泰” (Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand) packages, ASEAN (Association of South-East Asian Nations) member states agreed today in the 29th Tourism Forum held at Hanoi, Vietnam to promote the entire region as a one-stop tourist destination for foreign tourists in order to cushion the negative impacts of the global financial downturn. As stated by Malaysian Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Azalina Othman, the destination branding effort will “not only sell each country separately but to have one ASEAN campaign.”

However, in many ways, ASEAN cannot be seen as a singular entity, especially in the field of tourism. Some ASEAN members are simply not financially well-endowed enough for mass foreign tourist operations in the case of poverty-stricken Cambodia and Laos. While in the case of military-ruled Myanmar and even Thailand, where the major cities were rocked by recent mass protests, the political red-tape to tourism can spoil the initial excitement of many foreign tourists. Such countries simply do not have the capability to ensure the convenient, comfortable, and safe accommodation, transportation methods, and sightseeing facilities needed for constant flow of travelers.

Many foreign tourists are well-aware of such situations and the negative image they can bring to the proposed ASEAN Tourism brand name is tremendous. In response to the potential economic and political concerns and in accordance to the proposed strategy of tapping the youth travelers, ASEAN Tourism must be presented as a youthful energetic adventure that, at the same time, will downplay the possibility of any harmful or discomforting experiences for the tourists. It will require a tough and well thought out branding strategy to match such rigorous brand attributes. The Chinese “only children” and their over-worrying parents certainly won’t be an easy crowd to convince.