Local community representatives from Vietnam learned firsthand about Thailand tourism development and marketing during a study group meeting organised last month by the Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office (MTCO) in Bangkok.

Mr Anothai Udomsilp, Director of General Affairs Division, Office of Tourism Development (OTD), Ministry of Tourism and Sports, discussed OTD activities and Thailand's tourism strategy during the one-day workshop attended by 11 delegates from Tien Giang province, in the Mekong delta region of southern Vietnam. Also during the meeting, Mr Peter Semone, MTCO Senior Advisor, briefed the group on Mekong Tourism activities.

The MTCO workshop was part of a 5-day study tour of tourism development in Thailand. The participants were local community representatives of the Mekong Tien Giang Tourism Development Project and Tien Giang Project Management Unit (TG PMU). Funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the project includes community-based tourism development, including tourism information centres, a river pier and internal roads to access handicraft villages.