5 Countries One Destination - ACMECS

ACMECS - Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy is a political, economic, and cultural organization among Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and Myanmar.

 

Cambodia

The ministers from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam spoke on Thursday (September 7) at the 3rd Meeting of Tourism Ministers of countries under Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy (ACMECS) in Hochiminh City. 

 

Laos

ACMECS is intended to act as a catalyst to build upon existing regional cooperation programs and complement bilateral frameworks with a view to transforming the border areas of the five countries into zones of economic growth, social progress and prosperity, and to blending local, national and regional interests for common benefits, shared prosperity, enhanced solidarity, peace, stability and good neighborliness. 

Tourism ministers of the five countries mutually agreed to cooperate on fine tuning overall responsible tourism, tourism marketing activities, and creation of more diverse tourism products for this region. 

   

Myanmar

Nguyễn Ngọc Thiện, Vietnam’s Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, noted that last year, the number of international tourist arrivals in ACMECS countries reached 54.75 million, 

The number of intra-regional tourists was 8.95 million, 16.4% of the total number of international tourists, a year-on-year increase of 5% 

  

Thailand

In October last year in Hanoi, the tourism ministers adopted the Declaration of the 7th ACMECS Summit, while a Plan of Action on ACMECS Tourism Cooperation 2016-2018 was agreed in 2015. 

Joint tourism promotion and marketing activities among the five countries include participation in international tourism events, travel fairs and exhibitions; and support from each country for road shows to promote intra-

regional travel and organisation of familiarisation trips (FAM) with travel agencies, investors and media. 

    

                     Vietnam

Leaders of Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Thailand met for the first time on 12 November 2003 in Bagan, Myanmar. 

The Leaders agreed to call this newly created economic cooperation framework the "Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy" or "ACMECS"

At the meeting, the ministers emphasized the significance of tourism product linkages promoted by ACMECS countries, particularly thematic multi-country tour program, including 

• Southern Coastal Corridor (Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam) 
• Northern Heritage Trail (Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam) 
• Mekong Discovery Trail (Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam) 
• Cruising the Mekong Delta; The Middle Path (Myanmar and Thailand)
• Golden Triangle Mekong River Cruising (Laos and Thailand); 
• Route 8 (Laos, Thailand, and Việt Nam); 
• East–West Corridor (Laos, Thailand, and Việt Nam). 

Many activities have been held to develop specific tour program, including the first East-West Corridor Tourism Cooperation Meeting, and the first and second Meeting of the Southern Coastal Corridor, with technical tours in all provinces of Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam along the Corridor. 

The Plan of Action on tourism cooperation from 2016 to 2018 will continue to emphasize connections among routes and corridors, as well as marketing activities and sustainable tourism. 

The Plan also calls for promotion of major international forums and events in the region, particularly 

• Cambodia Travel Mart 2017 
• Visit Laos Year 2018
• ATF Thailand 2018
• ATF Vietnam 2019. 

The ministers said that ACMECS tourism cooperation in the “Five countries-One Destination” programme has been useful as it “brands the unique characteristics of the region”. 

They urged the private sector to become more deeply involved in tourism public-private partnerships, and said that new internet-based applications for information exchange and marketing should be used more frequently. 

22 million tourists 

On the same day, the 4th Meeting of Tourism Ministers of four countries, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam (CLMV), met and discussed travel facilitation, tourism-capacity building, involvement of the private sector and local communities, tourism product development, and tourism safety. 

Last year, the number of international tourist arrivals in CLMV countries with a total 22.16 million while the number of intra-regional tourists was 2.79 million, accounting for 12.6% of the total number of international tourists. 

Visa procedures have been increasingly simplified, more direct flights connecting regional destinations have opened, and travel by land among regional destinations has become more convenient, according to the ministers from the four countries. 

The CLMV promotes the East-West Corridor, Northeastern Corridor, Southern Coastal Corridor, and Southern Corridor as joint tourism products. 

The ministers stressed that CLMV tourism cooperation should be more outcome and action-oriented, and agreed that it was necessary to enhance coordination with relevant sub-regional cooperation frameworks. 

Thailand will host the 4th Meeting of ACMECS Tourism Ministers in 2019 and provide a venue and facilitation for the 5th Meeting of CLMV Tourism Ministers. 

"For more than a decade, tourism cooperation among Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam within the framework of ACMECS, including the ACMECS Tourism Cooperation Plan, has achieved significant economic results," said Nguyễn Thành Phong, chairman of HCMC’s People’s Committee. 

In the spirit of the “Five Countries - One Destination,” Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam have developed tourism products, inter-connected tourism spots and regions, and invested in and upgraded tourism technical infrastructure, while preserving traditional cultural values and protecting the environment. 

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