Mekong tourism project enters in third phase

The third phase of the project to develop tourism in the Mekong Sub-region will start in 2013, according to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
This is a large project under the cooperation framework of the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS).
It is funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) with the aim of helping Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia to sustainably develop tourism through upgrading of infrastructure, boosting the community-based tourism development, assisting poor people and stepping up tourism cooperation in the region.
The first phase of the project was carried out in Hanoi, and the Mekong delta provinces of An Giang and Tien Giang and a number of localities in Laos and Cambodia from 2003-2009 with an investment capital of 12.2 million USD.
The second phase started in 2009 and will complete in 2013.
The phase has an investment capital of nearly 11.8 million USD, focusing on training personnel for tourism, developing the community-based tourism together with poverty reduction, putting up tourists billboards along the East-West economic corridor and placing tourism products on international magazines.