PHNOM PENH: Cambodia's delegates to present at Business Opportunities in GMS Tourism in Bangkok, Thailand, on 17-20 October 2023

The GMS Tourism Coordinating Office is organizing a private sector roundtable on regional tourism projects to generate a public-private dialogue in which both parties can work together to meet interests and maximize value creation.

The panel discussion will be attended by delegates from Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam, and will be led by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

As planned, Mr. Chuob Ratana, Director of Tourism Development Planning, Ministry of Tourism led the delegation and will present on the infrastructure investments to support regional tourism, PPP opportunities in tourism, and other private sector opportunities from regional tourism.

The GMS Strategic Framework 2030 (GMS-2030) encourages private sector participation through one of its six innovative approaches: “embracing private sector solutions”.

This aims to reverse the current limited participation of the private sector in GMS projects, which in 2021 only represented 15% of total financing in the GMS Regional Investment Framework.

The tourism sector represents a sizeable portion of the GDP of GMS countries, contributing from 4.6% to 26.4% in 2019, before the pandemic. A coordinated approach is needed, developed jointly with the private sector, to engage investors in helping to finance connectivity infrastructure and operate services more efficiently. Public-private partnerships are at the core of sustainable tourism.

Senior officials from GMS ministries of tourism; private sector participants from the GMS Business Council and tourism industry associations such as the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) and Destination Mekong; the Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office; and ADB officials from the GMS Program, the Private Sector Operations Department (PSOD), and the Office of Market Development and Public-Private Partnership (OMDP) will attend the roundtable.