NEW SEARCH SITE FOR SOUTHEAST ASIAN TRAVEL

By Manik Mehta

NEW YORK, Jan 7 (Bernama) -- SoutheastAsia.org, a new search site for the
travel industry, will be launched on Jan 25, to enable users to plan and book
trips to the 10-member countries of Asean.

It will also have a special section for travel agents and those linked to
the travel trade.

The new site is the brainchild of the three-way partnership involving
Singapore-based Wego Pte Ltd, ASEAN Tourism Association (ASEANTA) and the
Bangkok-based ASEAN Competitiveness Enhancement (ACE) Project.

The ACE Project is funded by United States Agency for International
Development's (USAID) Regional Development Mission Asia.

ACE aims to help ASEAN enhance the integration and competitiveness of its
travel and tourism sectors.

"One of our strategies for enhancing the competitiveness of ASEAN tourism is
to encourage more travel suppliers to participate online to take better
advantage of regional integration and marketing efforts," said ACE Project
director R. J. Gurley.

Wego and ACE will share the trip planner's development and integration costs
and revenue it generates.

ASEANTA chairman Felix Cruz, who is also Philippine Airlines vice-president
for marketing support, explained that part of the strategy was to raise
awareness of Southeast Asia as a desirable regional destination relative to
Europe, South Pacific and the Caribbean.

Much of the content on SoutheastAsia.org is being conceived and designed
around niche themes such as ecotourism, train travel, cultural sightseeing and
cruising.

SoutheastAsia.org will have a soft launch during the ASEAN Tourism Forum
in Brunei from Jan 21 to 28.

-- BERNAMA