54th Meeting of the GMS Tourism Working Group
Thailand's Department of Tourism under the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, and the Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office (MTCO) as co-organizer, hosted the 54th GMS Tourism Working Group Meeting (TWG-54) on 17 December 2024 in Krabi, Thailand. Senior and mid-level officials representing the National Tourism Organizations (NTOs) of the six GMS countries, MTCO, Asian Development Bank (ADB), development partners and organizations, including the ASEAN Secretariat (online participation), ASEAN-China Centre, ASEAN-Japan Centre (online participation), DASTA (online participation), Millennium Destinations, and ECPAT International, attended the meeting.
The following updates were shared at the TWG-54 meeting:
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MTCO activities between July–December 2024, which included the development of the GMS Tourism Strategy 2030, various capacity building activities, and events and regional partnerships to strengthen regional tourism cooperation.
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GMS country reports, which focused on (i) key 2024 tourism statistics, tourism visa/entry policy updates and top source markets; (ii) updates on national tourism strategies, including prioritized markets and focused areas for 2025; (iii) smart tourism/digital initiatives; and (iv) key GMS tourism cooperation activities implemented in 2024 and planned for 2025.
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Program updates from ADB, including the (i) 8th GMS Summit held in November 2024 in Kunming, People’s Republic of China, which underscored the importance of tourism cooperation and noted the strategic directions of the GMS Tourism Strategy 2030; and (ii) GMS Tourism Assistance financed by ADB.
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GMS Tourism Infrastructure for Inclusive Growth Project (TIIG-2) implementation in Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Viet Nam.
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Briefing by the following development partners: ASEAN Secretariat, ASEAN-China Center, and ASEAN-Japan Center, on their activities in 2024, work plan for 2025, and potential collaborations.
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Preparations for TWG-55 and Mekong Tourism Forum 2025 to be held in Lao PDR, and TWG-56 to be held in Viet Nam in 2025.
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Last Updated: Wednesday, 4 June 2025