ACTIVITY OF CLMV COUNTRIES (CAMBODIA, LAOS, MYANMAR, VIETNAM) AS A FACTOR IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE TOURISM ECONOMY IN SOUTHEAST ASIA

Abstract

The accession of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam, as CLMV, to ASEAN in the second half of the 1990s, strengthened the organisation, which is now an economic competitor even to the European Union. However, the positive trends in this regard are believed to have been determined by the establishment of The Greater Mekong Subregion Economic Cooperation Program GMS-ECP in 1992, with the participation of six countries: China, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. Following the establishment of the Mekong Cross-Border Sub-region in 1992, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam, formed an association of CLMV countries in 1999, seeking joint economic development, contributing to the functioning of tourism as one of the key industries. There are not many publications regarding CLMV, most studies containing information about CLMV concern ASEAN. The study prepared by the authors is the first review study on the organization of tourism by CLMV countries and seeks medical tourism, economic cooperation, trade, transport, and development gap. The collected documents and other source materials were analyzed and assessed. Information on CLMV was considered to be limited due to the informal status of the arrangement.