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.
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.
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
Focal Persons at the Asian Development Bank and Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office
- Steven Schipani
Viet Nam Resident Mission,
Southeast Asia Department - Jens Thraenhart
Executive Director,
Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office
E-mail
Other Concerned Staff & Consultants
- Rhodora Concepcion
Thailand Resident Mission,
Southeast Asia Department - Flordeliza Melendez
Regional Cooperation and Operations Coordination Division,
Southeast Asia Department/GMS Secretariat
Send inquiries to GMS Secretariat.
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.
Viet Nam’s poorer regions have started to benefit from a boom in tourism.

Prizes include Mekong country experiences inclusive of interregional flights and accommodations, and the Irrawaddy Dolphin Trophy. Contest rules are available at https://www.mekongtourism.org/mekongminimovie/.
The inaugural Mekong Mini Movie Festival (Mekong Minis) is offering awards across several categories for the best submission that captures the essence of daily life and travel in the Greater Mekong Subregion.
The Greater Mekong Subregion is one of the fast-growing markets for air transport services today.
The Mekong Business Initiative, sponsored by the Australian Government and the Asian Development Bank, is sourcing international investment and facilitating regional expansion for innovative startups.