Greater Mekong Subregion

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14^th Meeting of the GMS Tourism Working Group Convenes in Hanoi (TWG-14) (28-30 March 2003)

The 14th Meeting of the GMS Tourism Working Group was held in Hanoi on 28-30 March 2003. The Meeting reviewed progress made in the eight priority GMS tourism programs:

• Program 1: Destination Marketing
• Program 2: Subregional Events
• Program 3: Training
• Program 4: Management of Natural and Cultural Resources
• Program 5: Mekong/Lancang River Tourism Development
• Program 6: Facilitation of Travel
• Program 7: Village-Based Tourism
• Program 8: GMS Tourism Flows

The Meeting also reviewed the agenda of the Working Group to make it more in line with the GMS Tourism Development Flagship Program, which was endorsed by the GMS Summit of Leaders in November 2002. Other important issues discussed by the Working Group include:

• Stronger public-private partnership in GMS tourism, and
• Strengthening the coordination and marketing functions of the Agency for Coordinating Mekong Tourism Activities.

The Meeting discussed the issue of a GMS tourism visa, which was suggested at the First GMS Summit of Leaders in Phnom Penh in November 2002. The Meeting agreed in principle to the concept because it will facilitate travel by tourists from non-GMS countries and support the promotion of the GMS as a single destination. The GMS visa is envisioned to be like the "schengen" visa in Europe, where visitors from outside schengen region need only to get the visa from any one of the participating country but which would be valid to the rest of the participating countries. It was proposed that initially the GMS visa will be provided in accordance with agreed eligibility criteria, such as restricting the visa to group tour participants.

For more details, please view entire proceedings.

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Record Attendance at the 8th Mekong Tourism Forum Amid SARS Scare (Hanoi, Viet Nam, 29-30 March 2003)

Despite anxieties brought about by the outbreak of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in some parts of Asia, the 8th Mekong Tourism Forum (MTF) was successfully convened in Hanoi on 29-30 March with record attendance.

The number of registered participants to the Forum reached 265 - a new record high for this major GMS tourism event, which has been held since 1996.

The Forum is being held to provide a platform for the public and private sectors of the six GMS countries to discuss and address subregional tourism issues, as well as to raise the profile of the GMS as a tourist destination. The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) is the organizer of the MTF, in collaboration with ADB and UN ESCAP.

The theme of the 8th MTF was "Innovation: Selling the Mekong in a Dynamic Marketplace". The keynote presentation entitled "Facing the Marketing Shift" was delivered by Mr. John Morse, Chairman, Tourism Victoria.

For the entire proceedings, email: gms@adb.org

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GMS Tourism Working Group Convenes 12th Meeting in Kunming, (March-April 2001)

The 12th Meeting of the GMS Tourism Working Group (TWG) was held in Kunming, Yunnan Province, PRC from 30 March to 1 April 2001. Representatives of the national tourist organizations (NTOs) of the six GMS countries as well as representatives of ADB, ESCAP, the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), and the Agency for Coordinating Mekong Tourism Activities (AMTA) participated in the Meeting.

As in previous meetings, the 12th Meeting of the TWG reviewed the progress made in the eight subregional tourism programs since the 11th Meeting of the TWG held in Phnom Penh in April 2000. A major outcome of the Meeting was PATA's announcement that the succeeding Mekong Tourism Forums - an annual event that brings together public and private entities involved in tourism development of the GMS - will be self-sustaining and will no longer require financial sponsorship of ADB.

The Meeting also endorsed the Tourism Report of the Preinvestment Study for the East-West Economic Corridor. The Report recommended 12 project proposals to promote tourism development and cooperation in the GMS: East-West Economic Corridor, spanning approximately 1,500 kilometers from Mawlamyine, Myanmar in the western end to Da Nang, Viet Nam in the eastern end. As a first step, AMTA will convene a meeting of the planned Marketing Task Force for the East-West Economic Corridor.

The Meeting discussed the issue of strengthening the ownership by the six countries of the cooperative efforts in GMS tourism. It was suggested that in order to raise the profile of GMS tourism cooperation, subsequent meetings of the TWG should be attended by the heads of the GMS NTOs. The Meeting agreed to propose the establishment of a GMS Tourism Ministers Conference to the 10th Ministerial Meeting on the GMS Program in order to catalyze stronger private sector participation in the tourism sector.

For the entire proceedings, email: gms@adb.org

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