Lancang - Mekong countries hold seminar in Myanmar to boost cultural heritage tourism

A pagoda in the ancient city of Bagan

A seminar on making tourism more sustainable in cultural heritage destinations among the Lancang-Mekong regional countries was held in Bagan, Myanmar, on Friday.

Chinese Ambassador to Myanmar Ma Jia said during the seminar, a project under the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) Special Fund, that the LMC has achieved fruitful results since its launch in 2016, significantly contributing to the peace, stability, development, and prosperity of the region and turning into a "golden example" for regional cooperation.

This year marks the beginning of the second LMC Five-Year Plan of Action. The just-concluded LMC Foreign Ministers' Meeting committed to continuing to build a safe, innovative, sustainable and amicable Lancang-Mekong region, which will benefit the people of the region, Ma said.

This seminar is based on the realities of the region and focuses on the theme of development. It provides an excellent platform for the cultural and tourism sectors of the LMC countries to engage in dialogues and discussions for development, Ma added.

Myanmar's Union Minister of Hotels and Tourism Thet Thet Khine expressed her thanks for China's contribution to the LMC initiative. The LMC has played a vital role in fostering regional development and its success is a testament to the mutual trust, close cooperation, and joint efforts of its member countries.

LMC countries should work towards a future where their cultural heritage is preserved with integrity, and their tourism practices are sustainable and inclusive, Thet Thet Khine added.

The seminar invited government officials, experts, and personnel of tourism sectors from the six LMC countries to discuss and exchange views on the protection and inheritance of cultural heritage and the development of tourism. A pagoda in the ancient city of Bagan