Tourism officials from four Southeast Asian countries – Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia and Vietnam – gathered at a meeting in Ho Chi Minh
City on March 21 to discuss connectivity measures to develop the
industry in the Mekong Sub-region.
At the meeting,
tourism cities, in particular Vientiane (Laos), Yangon (Myanmar),
Phnom Penh (Cambodia) and Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam), were
asked to create favourable conditions to boost economic and cultural
exchanges between regional people, for the development of each country
and to contribute to the region’s common prosperity.
Participants discussed cooperation plans to organise a programme on
fostering tourism in the Japanese market, scheduled to take place from
August 21-25, an exchange programme of tourism students from the Greater
Mekong Sub-region and a sellers’ seminar to implement the joint
statement of the first meeting of Mekong Sub-regional tourism cities’
mayors.
They also proposed new contents to prepare
for the second meeting of Mekong Sub-regional tourism cities’ mayors,
which is scheduled to take place in HCM City from September 11-12.
Speaking at the meeting, Nguyen Thanh Rum, Director
of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said
that the city’s tourism sector attaches much importance to the
connectivity between regional tourism cities, with the aim to create a
cooperation and development environment to increase the attractiveness
of tourism products.
Tourism, the city’s key
industry, is applying many policies and measures on promoting and
diversifying products, boosting human resource training and
strengthening cooperation and connectivity to develop the green industry
in and outside the country.-VNA