The new Mekong Tourism Office is assembling a private-sector task force to review its development and marketing plans for the next two years. The new office has two functions-coordinating sustainable tourism-development projects in line with the United Nations' millennium development goals and promoting the region as a single tourism and travel destination under the brand Mekong Tourism. The task force will look at tourism development priorities, brand strategies, marketing and public relations strategies, and preferred models of collaboration between the public and private sectors as well as between the private sector and non-government organizations. The final draft of the development and marketing plan is slated to be put before the GMS Tourism Working Group on March 28 when it meets in Luang Prabang, Laos, in conjunction with the Mekong Tourism Investment Summit.
