Manila, Sept. 4 -- Southeast Asian countries are urged to work more closely and establish a single "wellness identity" to capture the growing USD6.8-trillion global wellness economy.

Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) President Ferdinand "Perry" Ferrer made the call as the country opens the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Health Tourism & Wellness Economy Summit in Pasay City on Friday.

"Collaboration means 11 nations choosing deliberately to stop competing for the same investor or the same visitor, and instead to build something greater than any one of us could build alone: a wellness identity that the world recognizes as unmistakably, proudly ASEAN," he said.

Ferrer underscored the need for "convergence...