Asean
ASEAN seeks measures to push sustainable tourism development
ASEAN members gathered in Vietnamst ouching upon measures to speed up sustainable tourism development.

Nearly 200 delegates, including leaders of national tourism organizations (NTOs) of ASEAN members and the regional groupings partners gathered in Vietnams northern Quang Ninh province on Monday, touching upon measures to speed up sustainable tourism development.
Addressing the meeting, Nguyen Trung Khanh, general director of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, said tourism sector makes contributions to better political and cultural understanding, and closer bilateral and multilateral cooperation not only among regional countries, but also among nations in the world.
At the 49th meeting of NTOs of countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) which opened on Monday in Quang Ninhs Ha Long city, the delegates also highlighted contributions of tourism sector to gross domestic product.
Thailand Is Second Most Visited Country In Asia
Thailand attracted second highest number of tourists in the region with 32.58 million visitors in 2016
The Asia Pacific region accounts for 30 per cent of the world’s international tourism receipts
But Bangkok has been engulfed by smog for the past few days, raising questions about how seriously the authorities are taking the air pollution problem in the Thai capital.
Experts warn of the threat to public health if the unhealthy air quality levels persist, urging authorities to enforce mitigation measures to protect people’s health
It has been almost a week since the PM2.5 level in Bangkok rose significantly, forming a thick layer of smog over the city, but authorities are still scrambling to find solutions to help ease the problem
Spraying water over Greater Bangkok’s sky, trying to produce artificial rain haven’t brought any significant results so far.
The Asia Pacific region has outperformed all other regions in terms of growth, with international tourist arrivals increasing an average 7% per year compared to the world average of 4%.
The Asia Pacific region accounts for 30 per cent of the world’s international tourism receipts.
Thailand attracted second highest number of tourists in the region with 32.58 million visitors in 2016.
Source : English.news.cn
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Has Covid-19 prompted the Belt and Road Initiative to go green?

– Chinese overseas investment dropped off in 2020
– Government remains committed to the wide-ranging infrastructure programme
– Sustainability, health and digital to be the new cornerstones of the initiative
Following a year of coronavirus-related disruptions, China appears to be placing a greater focus on sustainable, digital and health-related projects in its flagship Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
As OBG outlined in April last year, the onset of Covid-19 prompted questions about the future direction of the BRI.
Launched in 2013, the BRI is an ambitious international initiative that aims to revive ancient Silk Road trade routes through large-scale infrastructure development.
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In June China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that 30-40% of BRI projects had been affected by the virus, while a further 20% had been “seriously affected”. Restrictions on the flow of Chinese workers and construction supplies were cited as factors behind project suspensions or slowdowns in Pakistan, Cambodia and Indonesia, among other countries.
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