ASEAN’s 10 Tourism Ministers have agreed to establish a common professional standard for M!CE professionals and event professionals with the goal of enhancing ASEAN’s competitiveness as a destination for M!CE. The ASEAN Mutual Recognition Arrangement on Tourism Professionals (ASEAN MRA on TP) for M!CE professionals and event professionals was approved during the 26th Meeting of ASEAN Tourism Ministers in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Implementation of the approved standards will begin later this year.
Chiruit Isarangkun Na Ayuthaya, President, Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau (TCEB), said, “ASEAN member countries have long prioritised professional development in tourism. Since its establishment in 2012, the ASEAN MRA on TP has guided ASEAN countries in the development of their tourism workforce in two areas: 1) Hotel Services and 2) Travel Services. In 2021, the scope of the MRA was expanded to include two new categories: 1) M!CE professionals and 2) Event professionals. The move was aimed at fostering cooperation and promoting mobility among ASEAN’s M!CE professionals. Each category was assigned a host country whose task was to formulate a set of professional standards specific to that category.”
