BANGKOK, 6 January 2021: Member governments of the Greater Mekong Subregion have postponed the Mekong Tourism Forum due to be hosted in Bagan, Myanmar this February to September 2021.
The Greater Mekong Subregion is made up of six countries — Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. The MTF is the group’s showcase annual event rotating between the six nations.
The Bagan forum has now been postponed three times due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It was originally scheduled for 28 to 29 April 2020 and later shifted to 25 to 26 August 2020, and then again to 25 to 26 February 2021.
The official statement acknowledged there was a “low likelihood that conference delegates would be comfortable in a closed meeting venue with over 300 people.”
That suggests doubts remain even for September 2021 dates. Once more, it will depend on the GMS working group that meets in June to decide if the MTF should convene online, or in-person during September. Or should they play safe and slot the Bagan meeting somewhere on the 2022 Calendar?
