The Tourism Working Group (TWG) comprises senior officials from the national tourism organizations of the six countries of the Greater Mekong Subregion. It serves as the advisory body to the Bangkok-based Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office (MTCO) and provides operational leadership and technical guidance to plan, implement, monitor, and evaluate subregional activities.
The working group meets at least twice a year.
MTCO serves as the secretariat for TWG, the MTCO Board, and the annual Mekong Tourism Forum.
This publication provides an analysis of key challenges and opportunities for the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) to realize its development goals by 2030 and beyond.
The Greater Mekong Subregion Tourism Working Group held its 46th meeting virtually on 3 December 2020.
Big data analytics, together with digital tools such as digital health certificates, can improve COVID-19 monitoring and make it easier for people to move around safely. Photo credit: ADB.
Real-time data is critical for reopening borders, managing destinations, and for the industry to build back better from the crisis.
The Governments of Lao PDR and Viet Nam will upgrade the Dakta-ok-Nam Giang border crossing between Sekong (Lao PDR) and Quang Nam (Viet Nam) provinces to international status, with the Sekong province opening its first international border crossing on 24 March. This upgrade will further ease the movement of goods and people between the two countries, and shorten the distance between Thailand and Viet Nam via the southern Lao PDR route by more than 100 kilometres.
The Greater Mekong Subregion Sustainable Tourism Development Project funded by ADB developed homestay service, catering services and tours in Viet Nam. Photo by ADB.
The Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office (MTCO) is inviting the public to vote for their favorite Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) small businesses to determine the six final businesses that will be recognized for the 2021 Experience Mekong Showcases. The public gets to learn about and choose from the 72 finalists from the Experience Mekong Showcases voting page.
Photo by ADB.
Nominations are now open for the 2021 Mekong Hero. Launched in 2020 by the Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office (MTCO) and Destination Mekong, the ‘Mekong Heroes’ program aims to celebrate passionate individuals in Mekong tourism who work tirelessly behind the scenes to inspire and influence, modeling new ways of conceiving and doing tourism better. Nominees could be CEOs or senior government officials, or they might be entrepreneurs or small business owners -- leaders that have made a significant contributio
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and its partners will collectively zero in on strategies and policy responses that countries can adopt to lay the groundwork for post-COVID-19 recovery at the upcoming Southeast Asia Development Symposium (SEADS) Innovation through Collaboration: Planning for Inclusive Post-COVID-19 Recovery.
Photo by the MTCO
The Government of Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR) with assistance of the Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office (MTCO) virtually convened the 46th Meeting of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) Tourism Working Group (TWG-46) on 3 December 2020. The meeting was attended by representatives of the National Tourism Organizations (NTOs) of the six GMS countries—Cambodia, the People’s Republic of China, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand, and Viet Nam—the MTCO, and the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
The community-based tourism area Bo Trach District, Quang Binh Province was first supported in 2001 by the GMS Sustainable Tourism Development Project. Photo by ADB.
The MIST program has been reimagined as “Mekong Innovations in Sustainable Tourism,” and shifts its focus to highlight innovations in sustainable tourism, resilience, and climate change in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS), aligned to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office (MTCO) made the announcement and opened the latest round of nominations on 1 February 2021. MIST welcomes nominees from startups, established companies, government organizations, NGOs, academia, media, as well as individuals, students, and partnerships on initiatives that can be
The Greater Mekong Subregion Tourism Working Group held its 45th meeting virtually on 18 June 2020.
Greater Mekong Subregion Secretariat
Regional Cooperation and Operations Coordination Division,
Southeast Asia Department, Asian Development Bank
Address: 6 ADB Avenue, Mandaluyong City 1550, Metro Manila, Philippines
Telephone: +63 2 8632 4444 Fax: +63 2 8636 2226