Asean-Aussie tourism collaboration in the works, says ministry


JOHOR BARU: Asean member countries have agreed to form a partnership with Australia to promote deeper tourism ties and address the difficulties faced in travelling to the country, says the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry.

Its secretary-general Datuk Roslan Abdul Rahman said among matters that were discussed by Asean leaders was to establish Australia as a dialogue partner on top of its existing partners such as Japan, China, South Korea, Russia and India.

“It is in the pipeline as we have planned and presented the reasons why it is timely for Asean and Australia to have this tourism collaboration.

“Malaysia has pushed for this and all the other Asean ministers have agreed to it,” he told the media during the Asean Tourism Forum 2025 yesterday.

Roslan said that forming a dialogue partnership with Australia also makes sense for the grouping geographically.

The strong Australian currency is also one of the factors behind the decision, he added.

“Although Australian tourists are already visiting Asean countries, we want to form a stronger partnership and see what other tourism products we can offer them.

“Hopefully, talks with Australia will also address existing issues we face, including difficulties for Malaysians entering the country,” he said.

Roslan reminded Malaysians not to be “problematic tourists” and refrain from overstaying, which could lead to difficulties when travelling in the future.

He said Malaysians should comply with the period of stay allowed by the respective countries when travelling.

“Do not just do as you please and end up being illegal immigrants there.

“Then in the future, your relatives and friends will be the ones facing difficulties in entering the country,” he said.

Roslan said Asean ministers also discussed promoting secondary and tertiary tourism destinations to avoid over-tourism.

“The ministers discussed opening up less popular destinations rather than just focusing on one or two areas.

“They also discussed opening up tourism opportunities to bring Russian tourists to this region,” he added.

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Asean Tourism Forum , ATF , Tourism , Tourists , Australia

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