Four Southeast Asian Countries Adopt Action Program on Tourism Cooperation

Tourism ministers of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam (CLMV) have adopted a three-year action program on tourism cooperation, Cambodian Tourism Minister Thong Khon said on 4 November.

The adoption was made during the sixth CLMV Tourism Ministers Meeting, which was convened on Thursday in Cambodia's Siem Reap province, Khon said.

"We adopted action program on CLMV Tourism Cooperation 2023-2025, which further focuses on promoting the realization of 'Four Countries, One Destination'," he told Xinhua.

He added that the action program also emphasized intraregional travel facilitation and simplification, tourism capacity building, involvement of private sector and local communities, tourism product development, joint promotion and tourism safety.

"We also called for CLMV tourism cooperation to be more active and efficient," he said.

The ministers tasked tourism senior officials, based on future directions and tourism action program, to prepare tourism project proposals to be submitted to the CLMV national coordinating agency to seek funding from development partners for implementation.

According to a joint statement, CLMV countries attracted nearly 4 million international tourists during the first nine months of 2022.

The ministers appreciated the progress of CLMV tourism cooperation, including self-driving tour, more air carriers and direct flights connecting regional destinations, travel facilitation by reducing unnecessary barriers, and e-visa expansion, as well as promotion of Buddhist Pilgrimage Tour through heritage routes connection within the region.

"The ministers highlighted the significance of further intensifying the joint tourism promotion and marketing activities, including the participation in international tourism events, travel fairs and exhibitions," the statement said.

The seventh CLMV Tourism Ministers Meeting will be held in Myanmar in 2024.