The Tourism Sector Strategy, 2016–2025, promotes more competitive, balanced, and sustainable tourism development in the Greater Mekong Subregion.

 The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $140 million loan to improve the environmental and economic conditions in Guilin in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of the People’s Republic of China.

“Rapid urbanization has become a threat to Guilin's natural resources and sustainable development,” said ADB Senior Transport Specialist for East Asia Nicolas Dei Castelli. “This project will include a number of innovative solutions with demonstration potential, including low-carbon mobility, inclusive sanitation, and institutional development.”

LaoSafe, a health and hygiene program for the tourism and hospitality sector, was rolled out in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic by the country’s Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism, to welcome tourists back safely into the country.  

The Government of Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) with assistance of the Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office (MTCO) virtually convened the 49th Meeting of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) Tourism Working Group (TWG-49) on 12 May 2022. The meeting was attended by representatives of the National Tourism Organizations (NTOs) of the six GMS countries, MTCO, and the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

ADB has worked out a core pipeline of projects for 2022–2024 that uses more responsive financing modalities and considers Viet Nam’s priorities for medium- and long-term post-pandemic recovery.

ADB supports Thailand in responding to the health, social, and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, ADB provided $1.5 billion loan to help the country mitigate the negative economic impact of the pandemic.

ADB is one of Lao PDR's largest sources of official development assistance, with an average annual lending of $100 million over the 5 years to 2021.