News and Events

News Summary On 17th Meeting Of The GMS Tourism Working Group (TWG-17)
28-30 March 2006, Luang Prabang, Lao PDR

The 17th Meeting of the GMS Tourism Working Group (TWG-17) was held in Luang Prabang, Lao PDR on 28-30 March 2006, jointly organized by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), the Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office (MTCO), and ADB in collaboration with the Lao National Tourism Administration. Representatives from the national tourism organizations of the 6 GMS countries, ESCAP, UNWTO, PATA, SNV, MTCO, and ADB participated in the Meeting. Representatives of various other public and private sector organizations involved in tourism also attended as observers.

The Meeting discussed the following issues:

• the status of the establishment of the MTCO and its work plan and budget for the first year of operation (2006)
• the status of implementation of the 7 strategic programs under the GMS Tourism Sector Strategy and the related priority projects under these programs
• other ongoing and pipeline initiatives to support the implementation of the Tourism Sector Strategy, including the participation of the private sector.

The Meeting also confirmed the appointment of Mr. Stephen Yong as Executive Director of MTCO.

The next meeting of the Tourism Working Group (TWG-18) will be held in late October 2006 in Nanning City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, PRC. Unlike previous TWG meetings that were jointly organized by ESCAP and ADB, subsequent meetings will be organized by MTCO. This development highlights the evolution of the TWG into a mature subregional body.

Read the report of TWG-17.