Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam formulate tourism development plan

Tourism officials from Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam (CLV) are discussing a draft plan on tourism development in the triangle area covering 13 provinces of the three countries.

The talks are taking place in southern Laos' Champasak province, some 484 km south of Lao capital Vientiane during the third Working Group Meeting on Formulation of the Tourism Development Plan for CLV in the Development Triangle Area, from Monday to Thursday, local daily Vientiane Times reported on Wednesday.

According to a report from the Tourism Development Department of the Lao Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism, the aim is to develop the triangle area into a sustainable tourism destination and to improve the living conditions of people in that area.

After the meeting, the representatives of Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam will consult with their associates to refine the draft development plan and submit it to local and central level authorities for approval. The plan will then be further considered at the senior CLV meeting to be held in Salavan province, some 670 km southeast of the capital Vientiane in December. Finally, it will be submitted for approval at a CLV meeting that Laos will host in early 2020, said the report.

During the meeting, delegations from the three countries will visit important tourist attractions in Champasak province. These landmark sites will be linked to places of importance in Cambodia and Vietnam, to create a single tourist package and destination.

The Lao delegation at the meeting is led by the Deputy Director General of the Tourism Development Department, Phonemaly Inthaphome, along with other officials from Information, Culture and Tourism departments in the southern Lao provinces of Champasak, Salavan, Xekong and Attapeu.

Representatives from other departments of the ministry and business operators in these southern provinces are also attending the meeting.