In terms of benefits, the AEC effectively means an integrated total consumer base of over 600 million potential customers. This is the most exiting facet of economic integration. Reduction in the cost of moving people and goods across borders will bring a real opening-up of the regional market particularly in terms of hospitality and the MICE sector, where more people in Asia will be encouraged to discover a wider variety of business and leisure destinations at a lower cost. This will result in huge growth in the tourism, hospitality and international business sectors. The lower cost bases will also encourage healthy competition, raising the bar universally on a variety of industries in Asia.