The ASEAN-Korea Roundtable in Tourism was planned to create a tourism environment and conditions that can revitalize the volume of tourists between Korea and ASEAN post the coronavirus pandemic, aligning with Article 5 of the Korea-ASEAN FTA Economic Cooperation and Annex Tourism, specifically highlighted in (b), (c), and (e). To facilitate tourist movement and improve constraints, the roundtable will address four essential issues: (1) Enhancing security and travel facilitation, (2) Improving systems to address tourist inconveniences, (3) Training ASEAN tourist personnel, and (4) Understanding cultural diversity. These topics complement the ASEAN+3 Tourism Cooperation Work Plan (2021-2025) and the work of relevant ASEAN-Korea tourism-related consultative bodies, such as M-ATM Plus Three and ASEAN+3 NTOs.

Passage to ASEAN (P2A) - an ASEAN entity (with the backing of over 150 ASEAN member universities), and Duy Tan University's Southeast Asia Tourism Development Center (SATDC) host the roundtable. The three-day event takes place annually, rotating among ASEAN countries over a three-year cycle, with support from the ASEAN-Korea FTA Fund and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea.

Before the advent of COVID-19, tourism played a substantial role, contributing approximately 12% to the collective GDP of Southeast Asian economies and fostering 11% of employment (OECD, 2023).

Pre-pandemic statistics showcased robust growth rates in Korean tourists visiting ASEAN nations, averaging 11.7% annually from 2010 to 2019. Conversely, ASEAN tourists visiting Korea exhibited a commendable average annual growth rate of 10% during the same period.

The resurgence of tourists post-COVID, amid uncertainties and weakened external demand, will play a pivotal role in further bolstering the economy, particularly for ASEAN.

From Korea’s standpoint, despite ASEAN's considerable population, the fact that ASEAN tourists visiting Korea (2.7mil, 2019) before the pandemic constituted only a quarter of Korean tourists visiting ASEAN(10mil) suggests a gap in catering to the tourism preferences of ASEAN's burgeoning middle class, despite the region's high affinity for the Korean Wave.

This roundtable was designed to serve as a discussion platform for tourism stakeholders from both Korea and ASEAN, with the aim of developing policy recommendations to enhance tourism exchange between the two sides, which will ultimately contribute to enhancing economic value as well as mutual understanding and trust between Korea and ASEAN in the post-corona era. Relevant stakeholders from both sides, including policymakers, the tourism industry, experts, academia, and media, will discuss four key issues hindering active tourism exchanges between Korea and ASEAN and propose solutions.

The tourism policy recommendations derived from this roundtable are expected to contribute to improving four key issues between Korea and ASEAN and fostering an environment and conditions that promote active tourism exchange.

To optimize the effectiveness and practicability of the roundtable results, there's a plan in place to oversee progress via the Technical Working Party. This party consists of representatives from ASEAN and Korea, enabling them to share and deliberate on progress during subsequent roundtables.

The project's three-year duration ensures a seamless transition of each year's accomplishments into the following year's discussions, such as the assessment sessions from the previous year. This approach guarantees the sustained benefits of the project.

This Roundtable will pave the way for reaching 20 million tourists exchanges between Korea & ASEAN in the near future from 13 million in 2019.

This Roundtable aims to tackle four pivotal issues and propose effective solutions:

Issue 1: Enhancing Security and Travel Facilitation

In the post-pandemic landscape, it's crucial to innovate various digital border control methods to accommodate the surge in travel demand, such as digital traveller identities supported by biometrics, eGates & kiosks, and e-visa.

Concerns raised by ASEAN Muslim visitors to Korea, notably from Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim tourism market, emphasize the need for more halal restaurants and prayer rooms (KTO, 2020). By establishing a Muslim-friendly tourism environment, Korea can tap into a substantial market of ASEAN Muslim tourists.

The third quarter of 2023 saw a remarkable recovery rate of international passengers on ASEAN routes for Korean airliners, with rates ranging from 70-96% to pre-coronavirus levels (YHA, 19 Oct, 2023). Enhancing tourism exchanges can be achieved by reinstating previous air routes and expanding direct flights between tourist destinations by ASEAN and ROK.

- What are some best practice examples utilizing border control measures such as digital traveller identities supported by biometrics, eGates & kiosks, and e-visas to ensure tourist safety and seamless travel? (e.g., passport-free airport in Dubai, ICAO TRIP, etc.)

- What measures can be implemented to enhance mutual border control between Korea and ASEAN using cutting-edge technologies to facilitate seamless travel, and what are the barriers to implementation? How can these challenges be addressed through mutual cooperation?

- What are the emerging trends in travel experiences for Muslim tourists from ASEAN visiting Korea?

- What policy efforts are needed to create a more Muslim-friendly tourism environment for ASEAN tourists visiting Korea?

- How does the establishment of direct flight routes between major tourist destinations and markets in ASEAN and Korea contribute to developing the potential tourism demand between the two regions?

- What roles should central and local governments, airlines, and the travel industry play in opening direct flight routes between key destinations and markets? What policy support measures are necessary to achieve this?

Issue 2: Improving Systems to Address Tourist Inconveniences

Discrepancies in visa policies between ASEAN countries and South Korea are notable. For tourists from ASEAN countries who want to visit Korea, a Korean visa is considered one of the important barriers. In particular, group tourists from ASEAN countries complain that Korea Electronic Travel Authorization (K-ETA) program is very inconvenient. On the other hand, Korean tourists who want to visit Cambodia, Myanmar, and Indonesia require a visa.

Historically, favorable alterations in visa policies have led to substantial increases in tourist arrivals, ranging from 5% to 25% over three years (WTTC, 2019). Despite intentions set at the 2011 ASEAN Summit and ATF 2014 NTO for an ASEAN Common Visa, its implementation remains pending.

Low-priced package tours serve as a significant source of inconvenience for tourists and often encourage unfair business practices, causing disruption within the tourism market. The negative aspects caused by these low-cost package tours require the attention and policy alternatives of not only government policymakers but also travel agencies, related tourism industry organizations, consumer groups, and efforts for self-regulation.

- Evaluate the efforts made to improve mutual visa facilitation between Korea and ASEAN member countries.

- What additional measures are needed to further simplify visa processes between Korea and ASEAN?

- What visa policies can be jointly proposed through close cooperation among ASEAN member states, such as the ASEAN Common Visa initiative?

- How can the negative effects of low-cost package tour products, which disrupt the tourism market order and cause dissatisfaction among tourists, be assessed in terms of their long-term impact on expanding tourism exchanges between Korea and ASEAN?

- What policy tools can tourism authorities, including central and local governments and DMOs, rely on to prevent the adverse effects of low-cost package tour products?

- What collaborative efforts are needed among related travel industries, travel agencies, and consumer organizations to prevent the negative effects of low-cost package tour products? How can consumer feedback and reviews be effectively utilized?

Issue 3: Training Tourist Personnel

The third challenge revolves around securing skilled manpower, education, and training in the tourism sector following the mass exodus of tourism workers during the COVID-19 period. The surge in demand for tourism manpower during the recovery phase exacerbates this concern. The 17th UNWTO ETP, co-hosted by UNWTO, the Government of Vietnam, and Duytan University (Nov. 2023), extensively deliberated on these issues.

In the 2019 International Visitor Survey by the Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, overall language communication satisfaction for foreign tourists was 63%. However, tourists from ASEAN countries had lower satisfaction levels: Malaysia (46%), Singapore (47%), Indonesia (48%), the Philippines and Thailand (53%), and Vietnam (55%). The service level of personnel working in the tourism service sector has a significant impact on the evaluation of tourist facilities and tourist destinations and on their sustainable growth.

Furthermore, there's a pressing need to enhance and expand tourism promotional materials, social media content, and Destination Management Organization (DMO) promotional platforms in the languages of the source countries.

- What role can the training and education of specialized tourism service professionals in Korea and ASEAN play in expanding tourism exchanges?

- How effective are the efforts by Korea and ASEAN member countries to improve the quality of tourism service professionals for mutual visitors?

- What are best practices of public-private partnerships for training and educating tourism service professionals for mutual visitors, and assess the potential for scaling these examples.

- How can cutting-edge technologies such as AI be leveraged in the training and education of specialized tourism professionals in Korea and ASEAN?

- What policy alternatives are available to train tour guides proficient in the languages of Korea and ASEAN source countries?

- How can promotional materials, SNS promotional content, and DMO publicity sites in the languages of Korea and ASEAN source countries be provided in a cost-effective manner?

Issue 4: Understanding Cultural Diversity

A survey conducted in 2021 (https://rb.gy/xqrgul) uncovered that the majority of ASEAN youth (70%) held a positive perception of Korea, whereas only 41.6% of Korean youth viewed ASEAN favorably. Korean youth often associate ASEAN with attributes such as 'developing countries, poverty, hot weather, tropical climates, vacation spots, and low prices.'

To foster enhanced interaction and tourism exchange, it's imperative to comprehend and appreciate cultural differences, thus averting potential misunderstandings.

- Evaluate the mutual efforts of Korea and ASEAN to enhance awareness of cultural diversity and examine how this awareness has influenced people-to-people exchanges between the two regions.

- What actionable policy measures can be implemented to expand exchanges, shared experiences, and study opportunities among Korean and ASEAN youth to overcome mutual perception gaps? (e.g., a Korea-ASEAN version of the EU Erasmus Program)

- Introduce success stories of public-private partnerships that have promoted awareness of cultural diversity between Korea and ASEAN, and explore ways to scale these initiatives.

- What collaborative measures can Korea and ASEAN implement to promote joint efforts in areas such as traditional and modern culture, performing arts, cuisine, broadcasting, exhibitions, youth exchange, and academic exchange?

- How can advanced technologies like AI be utilized to enhance awareness of cultural diversity between Korea and ASEAN?

- What strategies can be employed to leverage social media and influencers to promote cultural diversity between Korea and ASEAN?

The “ASEAN–Korea Roundtable in Tourism” takes place in Year 1 at Duy Tan University in Danang, Viet Nam, from 2 to 4 July 2025, and in Year 2 from 4 to 7 November 2026 at the Ministry of Tourism, Indonesia. The Roundtable will consist of four half-day sessions, each dedicated to tackling one of the key challenges outlined above. These sessions over two days will follow a structured format, starting with presentations by consultants, followed by panel discussions that delve into specific challenges and policy recommendations.

On the final day, 4 July, 2025, a technical tour will be organized, featuring a visit to “local governance office” to explore their tourism management practices and initiatives. This hands-on experience will provide valuable insights into regional tourism management policies.

The Roundtable in Tourism is designed for tourism policymakers from national tourism administrations and organizations, local tourism authorities, destination management organizations, travel trade associations, tourism businesses, academia, experts, local communities, NGOs, and the media.

TWP will be responsible for monitoring and following up on the implementation of measures taken by ASEAN member countries and Korea based on the recommendations from the Roundtable. The TWP will consist of 11 representatives from ASEAN and ROK governments or National Tourism Organizations (NTOs), project manager, and one representative from SATDC. Each year, TWP will produce monitoring reports, which will be shared and discussed at the subsequent Roundtable. These reports can be reported to the Meeting of ASEAN+3 NTOs and the Meeting of ASEAN Tourism Ministers +3.