Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri hosted a high tea for nine Asean ambassadors and high commissioners here yesterday.

The gathering involved envoys from Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, Singapore and Brunei.

The get-together was to enhance ties between Malaysia and its Asean neighbours after a prolonged period of restrictions brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Nancy said in her speech the past two years had been difficult for all sectors, especially the tourism industry.

"The number of tourist arrivals to Asean dropped sharply from 143.6 million in 2019 to 26.2 million in 2020, while the number of intra-Asean visitors was 9.2 million or 35.1 per cent of the total arrivals to Asean in 2020."

Nancy said the Asean Tourism Strategy Plan 2015-2025 stated that by 2025, Asean would be a quality tourism destination offering a unique, diverse Asean experience, and would be committed to responsible, sustainable, inclusive and balanced tourism development.

"During the 25th Meeting of Asean Tourism Ministers held on Jan 19 in Sihanoukville, Cambodia, it was highlighted that Asean National Tourism Organisations (NTOs) and subsidiary bodies should continue strengthening cooperation and collaboration with relevant stakeholders, to contribute towards the recovery of the tourism sector more comprehensively."

Nancy said the way forward for the region to recover was through the implementation of the "Post-Covid-19 Recovery Plan for Asean NTO", which was endorsed in September last year.

She said she believed that all Asean members should work together in marketing and promoting the region's tourism offerings.

"This is also in line with the new Asean branding 'A Destination for Every Dream', where we can continue to market Southeast Asia as a single destination."

She said Asean member countries had contributed to a large number of tourist arrivals in Malaysia, with 2,949,363 tourists in 2020 and 91,665 in 2021.

Meanwhile, Nancy said the ministry would organise a three-day, two-night retreat to Pahang in August for Asean envoys and their spouses.