Tourism

Countries in the Greater Mekong Subregion are working together to promote the subregion as a single destination for international visitors and encourage communities to enhance the environmental, social, and economic benefits of tourism.

The Tourism Working Group (TWG) provides operational leadership and technical guidance to plan, implement, monitor, and evaluate subregional activities.

In September 2017, ministers from the six member countries of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) endorsed the GMS Tourism Sector Strategy 2016-2025 to enable more competitive, balanced, and sustainable destination development. The Strategy sets out five strategic directions: (a) develop human resources, (b) improve tourism infrastructure, (c) enhance visitor experiences and services, (d) conduct creative marketing and promotion activities, and (e) facilitate regional travel.

Work of the GMS tourism working group has included marketing sustainable and pro-poor tourism in the subregion through the development of multi-country tour packages; training government officials and people working in the tourism industry; producing local products for sale to tourists; and preserving the ecological and cultural heritage of key tourist sites in the subregion.

The GMS Economic Cooperation Program Strategic Framework 2030 (GMS-2030) builds on the current Tourism Strategy directions. Since the subregion’s tourism industry has been severely impacted, the GMS-2030 will promote recovery efforts, such as intraregional tourism. Over the long term, GMS-2030 will support the development of higher value-added and secondary destinations, as well as strengthen human capital, connectivity infrastructure, public–private linkages, and environmental sustainability. GMS-2030 was endorsed and adopted at the 7th GMS Summit of Leaders in September 2021. It aims to provide a new setting for the development of this subregion for the next decade.

Related

• Greater Mekong Subregion Tourism Sector Strategy 2016-2025

• Tourism Working Group (TWG)

• Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office website

Tourism

Focal Persons at the Asian Development Bank

  • Steven Schipani 
    Water and Urban Development Sector Office

    Sectors Group

  • Dee Suvimol Thanasarakij (Ms.)
    Executive Director, 
    Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office  
    www.mekongtourism.org 

Other Concerned Staff & Consultants

  • Zulfia Karimova, EAPF 
    Regional Cooperation and Integration Unit
    Central and West Asia Department

  • Mark Bezuijen
    Agriculture, Food, Nature, and Rural Development Sector Office
    Sectors Group

  • Asadullah Sumbal 
    Regional Cooperation and Integration Unit
    Southeast Asia Department

  • Alma Canarejo 
    Regional Cooperation and Integration Unit
    Southeast Asia Department/GMS Secretariat 

Send inquiries to GMS Secretariat. 

35th Meeting of the Greater Mekong Sub-region Tourism Working Group (TWG-35)

The 35th Meeting of the GMS Tourism Working Group (TWG-35) was held in Da Nang, Viet Nam on 16 June 2015, attended by representatives of the National Tourism Organizations (NTOs) of ve GMS countries (Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, ailand, and Viet Nam), the Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office (MTCO), and the Asian Development Bank (ADB). Representatives of PRC were unable to join.


Da Nang, Viet Nam photo by Central Coast Vietnam Destination Marketing Organization.

The 2015 Mekong Tourism Forum is an annual event showcasing tourism trends and developments in the subregion. Da Nang, Viet Nam photo by Central Coast Vietnam Destination Marketing Organization.

Mekong Forum Explores Ways to Grow Sustainable Tourism

HA NOI, VIET NAM (10 June 2015) – A 5-day forum on developing and promoting sustainable tourism in the Greater Mekong Subregion, the fastest-growing tourist destination in Asia and the Pacific, gets underway in Da Nang, Viet Nam on 15 June, 2015.

34th Meeting of the GMS Tourism Working Group (TWG-34)

The 34th Meeting of the GMS Tourism Working Group (TWG-34) was held in Luang Prabang, Lao PDR, on 18 November 2014, attended by representatives of the National Tourism Organizations (NTOs) of the six GMS countries (Cambodia, PRC, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand, and Viet Nam), the Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office (MTCO), and the Asian Development Bank (ADB). Representatives of development partners including Swisscontact, GIZ and Luxembourg Development Cooperation also attended.


The once-isolated Lanten ethnic group in Nam Chang village has long been admired for its high-quality, indigo-dyed cotton clothes. ADB and Fair Trade Laos provided a range of support to develop community-based tourism, including an access road connecting the village to the highway, and training in textile marketing and management. Photo: ADB/Jason Rush.

The once-isolated Lanten ethnic group in Nam Chang village has long been admired for its high-quality, indigo-dyed cotton clothes. ADB and Fair Trade Laos provided a range of support to develop community-based tourism, including an access road connecting the village to the highway, and training in textile marketing and management. Photo: ADB/Jason Rush.

Tourist Influx Helps Rural Lao PDR Thrive

Completion of the last overland link in the North-South Economic Corridor brings prosperity to poor provinces in the Lao People's Democratic Republic, a landlocked country that lies at the heart of the Greater Mekong Subregion.


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