The Hanoitimes - Tourism Ministers of four Asian countries Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar will gather in Ho Chi Minh City this September to discuss ways to promote the “Four Countries-One Destination” campaign.

The meeting is part of the 8th International Travel Expo Ho Chi Minh City (ITE HCMC) 2012 which is scheduled to take place from September 13-15.

The four ministers would take the occasion to debate on orientations and plans for tourism cooperation in the 2012-2015 period in a bid to lure more visitors to new tourism sites in Vietnam, Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia.

In addition, they would invite Thailand, an ASEAN member country to join hands and build the new image of “Five Countries-One Destination”. The move is expected to forge more tourism attraction for the Mekong Delta region.

In recent years, the tourism sectors of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam grew strongly.

Through the cooperation efforts of national tourism organizations, the tourism sectors of the four countries have achieved encouraging results. In spite of the global economic recession, in 2010, the four countries received about 10.9 million visitors, up nearly 25% compared with 2009.

Vietnam expects to serve 10.3 million international tourists and 47.5 million domestic tourists in 2020. The country would pour US$94.2 billion into developing 39 national resorts, 30 national destinations and 10 tourism cities in the near future.

DLO