ASEAN tourism leaders convene for 62nd NTO’s meeting d

BORACAY Island- The Department of Tourism (DOT) led the 62nd ASEAN National Tourism Organizations (NTOs) Meeting on Monday, (August 4) at the Boracay Newcoast Convention Center.

Co-chaired by the Philippines and Singapore as Vice Chair, the gathering brought together senior tourism officials from ASEAN member states, dialogue partners, and international organizations to review ongoing initiatives and chart next steps for a more resilient, sustainable, and competitive regional tourism sector.

The meeting opened with the adoption of the agenda, and proceeded with discussions on the progress of the ASEAN Tourism Strategic Plan (ATSP) 2016–2025, updates from tourism committees, and initial work on the ATSP 2026–2030. Delegates also reviewed regional tourism outlooks, upcoming ministerial initiatives, and strengthened cooperation with dialogue partners and sub-regional groupings.

The 62nd ASEAN NTOs Meeting is part of a week-long series of ASEAN tourism activities in Boracay, which also includes the 47th ASEAN Plus Three NTOs Meeting, the 33rd ASEAN–India Tourism Working Group Meeting, and the Policy Workshop for the ASEAN Tourism Strategic Plan Post-2025. Collectively, these events highlight ASEAN’s unified effort to develop a globally competitive tourism industry that benefits local communities while advancing the vision of Southeast Asia as one sustainable and premier tourism destination.

Delivering the Philippines’ remarks as Chair of the 62nd ASEAN NTOs Meeting, DOT Undersecretary Verna Buensuceso underscored the importance of regional collaboration in navigating global uncertainties.

“𝘈𝘴 𝘸𝘦 𝘯𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘻𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘮 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘺, 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘮. 𝘐𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘈𝘶𝘨𝘶𝘴𝘵, 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘈𝘚𝘌𝘈𝘕 𝘔𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩. 𝘓𝘦𝘵 𝘶𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘚𝘌𝘈𝘕 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘚𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘈𝘴𝘪𝘢—𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺,” Undersecretary Buensuceso said.

Also at the meeting were DOT officials, including Undersecretary Maria Rica Bueno; Assistant Secretaries Judilyn Quiachon and Sharlene Zabala-Batin; and Directors Paulo Tugbang, Arlene Alipio, Virgilio Maguigad, and OIC-Director Alex Macatuno, among others.