During the ASEM10 Summit in October 2014 in Milan, Italy, the ASEM leaders recalled the importance of tourism both as an engine for growth and decent job creation and as a crucial tool to enhance people-to-people contacts, and reaffirmed their willingness to deepen cooperation in this area between Asia and Europe. Based on this idea, Japan decided to take a lead for the promotion of tourism between Asia and Europe and to host the ASEM Symposium on Promoting Tourism.