Vietnam joins 4 other Mekong countries to push cross-border tourism

The agreement was reached at the seventh Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy (ACMECS) Tourism Ministers’ Meeting in Ho Chi Minh City on Thursday, where the five countries adopted a joint action plan for 2026-28.

The plan focuses on stronger connectivity, digital transformation, sustainable tourism, safety and human resources to advance the ‘Five Countries, One Destination’ concept, according to the ministry.

The meeting was attended by tourism ministers and officials in charge of tourism from the five countries, including Vietnamese Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Lam Thi Phuong Thanh.

Myanmar's Union Minister for Hotels, Tourism and Culture U Maung Myint, who chaired the meeting, said the five countries' strategic location connecting China, India and mainland Southeast Asia gives ACMECS an advantage in developing a unified and attractive destination for major source markets.

The countries will work to strengthen cross-border connections, develop multinational tourism routes and products, improve travel conditions, exchange information, and coordinate tourism promotion and marketing, according to the ministry.

These efforts aim to make it easier for tourists to visit multiple destinations on cross-border itineraries while tapping the region's potential for intra-regional and international tourism.

The five ACMECS countries welcomed 65.27 million international visitors in 2025, generating about US$94.08 billion in tourism revenue.

Of the total arrivals, 8.73 million were intra-ACMECS visitors, highlighting room for further growth in intra-regional tourism, Myint said.

In the first six months of 2026, the region received about 33.08 million international visitors, including 4.25 million intra-ACMECS tourists, accounting for 13 percent.

In a related development, the eighth Cambodia-Laos-Myanmar-Vietnam (CLMV) Tourism Ministers' Meeting took place in Ho Chi Minh City on the same day, focusing on tourism cooperation through digital transformation and artificial intelligence.

Addressing the event, Vietnamese Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Lam Thi Phuong Thanh said tourists are increasingly favoring multi-destination trips and using digital platforms and AI to search for, compare and book travel services.

Noting that this trend presents an opportunity for the four CLMV countries to advance their 'Four Countries, One Destination' model, Thanh proposed setting targets for international and intra-regional visitor growth, developing joint tourism products and adding direct air connections among the four countries.

In the first six months of 2026, the four countries received about 17.1 million international visitors, including 1.7 million intra-regional visitors, according to the ministry.