GMS member countries and the Bangkok-based Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office are working to promote the Greater Mekong Subregion as a single destination for international visitors, and to encourage communities to enhance the environmental, social and economic benefits of tourism.
GMS member countries and the Bangkok-based Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office are working to promote the Greater Mekong Subregion as a single destination for international visitors, and to encourage communities to enhance the environmental, social and economic benefits of tourism.
This work 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.
In September 2017, ministers from the six member countries of the Greater Mekong Subregion endorsed the GMS Tourism Sector Strategy 2016-2025 to enable more competitive, balanced, and sustainable destination development.
Related
• Greater Mekong Subregion Tourism Sector Strategy 2016-2025
Send inquiries to GMS Secretariat.
The United Nations’ World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) cited last year’s Mekong Tourism Forum in Luang Prabang as one of seven case studies showcasing a socially inclusive tourism policy.
A reusable bamboo straw producer from the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) beat 111 entrants from across Southeast Asia to take the top prize in the 2018 Mekong Innovative Startups in Tourism (MIST) challenge.
VIENTIANE, LAO PEOPLE’S DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC (16 October 2018) —The Asian Development Bank and the Government of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic today signed grant agreements worth $125.5 million in total for three projects in the tourism and urban sectors.
Blessed with rich natural resources and a strategic location at the heart of the Greater Mekong Subregion, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic has emerged from decades of turmoil and isolation to become one of the fastest growing economies in Southeast Asia since 2011.
A young businesswoman offering motorcycle tours led by women is one of the entrepreneurs supported by a tourism accelerator program in the Greater Mekong Subregion.
The Greater Mekong Subregion Tourism Working Group held its 41st meeting in Nakhon Phanom, Thailand on 25 June 2018, back-to-back with the Mekong Tourism Forum 2018 on 26–29 June.
The Mekong Innovative Startups in Tourism (MIST) announced the 10 companies it will support in 2018 under its Startup Accelerator Program and Market Access Program.
The Ministry of Tourism and Sports of Thailand is hosting the Mekong Tourism Forum (MTF) 2018 in Nakhon Phanom province from 26 to 29 June in collaboration with the Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office. This year's forum will focus on travel trends with the theme "Transforming Travel—Transforming Lives."
International visitor arrivals in the Greater Mekong Subregion went up by 13% to 59.9 million in 2017, according to the Pacific Asia Travel Association’s Annual Tourism Monitor 2018.
This is the summary of proceedings from the 40th Meeting of the Greater Mekong Subregion Tourism Working Group (TWG-40) in Yangon, Myanmar on 4 December 2017.
