The Ministry of Tourism (MOT) in Cambodia has confirmed that the annual ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF) 2021 will skip a year. It will now be held in January 2022.

The ministry said while announcing, “Although some countries have successfully contained the virus, other countries have also seen resurgence in COVID-19 cases.” The statement pointed out that Cambodia and countries around the world are still restricting travel and events holding on a large scale.

The annual ASEAN Tourism Forum places side by side with government meetings and attracts more than 1,500 executives from travel and hotel industry, and government officials from the 10-Country ASEAN region. The ATF was originally scheduled for 17 to 23 January 2021 in Phnom Penh and was about to usher in its 40th exhibition, without a break in long celebrated history.

The event moves between Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam in alphabetical order each year.

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Now, the ASEAN leading tourism trade activities have been postponed to January 2022. Ministry of Tourism stated that the date will be set in early 2021, but traditionally, the event will be held in the first quarter of the year. The MOT claimed that the health and safety of all participants of ATF 2021 are at top priority and the ministry apologizes for any inconvenience caused.

The ASEAN Tourism Forum was established in Genting Highlands, Malaysia in 1981 and has always managed to convene the meeting in the past 40 years, although in rare cases the venue of the gathering changed due to economic or political considerations.

The Cambodia’s Ministry of Tourism held on to the last minute to confirm the delay, although it has been evident to most travel and hospitality executives for a long time that the trade event will have to adapt to hybrid or virtual formats during 2020 and may even next year to survive.