Background
The Second BIMSTEC Ministerial Meeting held on 18-19 December 1998 in Dhaka identified tourism as one of the first six areas of cooperation in BIMSTEC. The First BIMSTEC Summit held on 31 July 2004 in Bangkok, Thailand emphasized the need for joint marketing of tourism packages, exchange of visits, and sharing of information as well as tourism promotion in the BIMSTEC region.
The leaders in the Second BIMSTEC Summit held on 13 November 2008 in New Delhi, India agreed to harness the region’s natural, cultural and historical endowments in order to enhance intra-BIMSTEC tourism as well as tourism from other countries. The Third BIMSTEC Summit held on 04 March 2014 in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar encouraged the Member States to realize the enormous tourism potential of the region by enhancing cooperation in this field, particularly through facilitating engagements among the private sector in the Member States. The leaders at the Goa Retreat on 16 October 2016 recognized the rich potential for the development of tourism and reiterated their keen interest in taking concrete steps to promote intra-BIMSTEC tourism including specialized tourist circuits and eco-tourism. In particular, the leaders encouraged the development of the Buddhist Tourist Circuit and Temple Tourist Circuit within the region.
The leaders in the Fourth BIMSTEC Summit held on 30-31 August 2018 in Kathmandu, Nepal agreed to take concrete steps to promote intra-BIMSTEC tourism; task the relevant authorities to devise strategies considering the emerging opportunities and building on the past initiatives including the “Plan of Action for Tourism Development and Promotion for the BIMSTEC Region”. They further agreed to take concrete measures to facilitate tourism by ensuring the safety and security of tourists, and smooth transport connectivity. They reaffirmed their commitment to developing and promoting Buddhist Tourist Circuit, Temple Tourist Circuit, ancient cities trail, eco-tourism, and medical tourism.
The First Roundtable and Workshop of Tourism Ministers held on 23 February 2005 in Kolkata, India prepared the Plan of Action for Tourism Development and Promotion, and the Second BIMSTEC Tourism Ministers’ Roundtable and Workshop held on 29 August 2006 in Kathmandu, Nepal adopted it. Similarly, the First Meeting of the BIMSTEC Working Group on Tourism held on 23 September 2013 in New Delhi, India decided to set up the Tourism Fund with a one-time contribution by each Member State which will be supporting the activities approved by the Tourism Working Group. The BIMSTEC Tourism Fund is being administrated by India. In addition, the First Meeting of Network of Tour Operators held on 07 July 2017 in New Delhi, India and the Second Meeting of Network of Tour Operators held virtually on 08-09 December 2020 in Colombo, Sri Lanka made recommendations including common marketing strategy i.e. the creation of a BIMSTEC brand for tourism, a common website for promotion, annual BIMSTEC Travel Mart/Conclave, Public-Private Partnership for promotion of Tourism, BIMSTEC Annual Convention on Tourism, including a common safety protocols for adventure tourism etc.
During the Seventeenth BIMSTEC Ministerial Meeting held on 01 April 2021 in Colombo, Sri Lanka, the Ministers reiterated that the tourism and hospitality industry in the BIMSTEC region has been severely hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Ministers called upon the Member States to implement the Plan of Action for Tourism Development and Promotion for the BIMSTEC Region to facilitate intra-regional tourism. They also encouraged the holding of the Second Meeting of the BIMSTEC Working Group on Tourism and the Third BIMSTEC Tourism Ministers’ Roundtable. They further encouraged tourism entrepreneurs including tour and trekking operators to hold interactions and meetings with a view to enhancing cooperation and coordination among themselves.
A study report titled “Leveraging Thematic Circuits for BIMSTEC Tourism Development” was published in December, 2022 outlining the short-, medium- and long-term recommendations for revival and development of tourism sector in the region.
The Nineteenth BIMSTEC Ministerial Meeting held virtually on 09 March 2023 in Bangkok, Thailand, reaffirmed the significance of the tourism sector in reinforcing the historical, cultural and economic synergies in the region and encouraged the Member States for early finalization of the Plan of Action on Development and Promotion of tourism including the early functioning of BIMSTEC Tourism Information Centre and utilization of the BIMSTEC Tourism Fund.
The Sixth BIMSTEC Summit held on 04 April 2025 in Bangkok, Thailand agreed to take concrete steps to promote intra-BIMSTEC tourism, including through cross-border travel facilitation and sustainable tourism practices, leveraging the region’s rich natural, cultural heritage and historical sites to support economic growth and employment. The Leaders underscored the importance of building on the progress made with regard to BIMSTEC tourism circuits, including the BIMSTEC Buddhist Circuits, BIMSTEC Temple Circuits and BIMSTEC Eco-Tourism Circuits, and encouraged greater public-private partnership to enhance infrastructure, services and innovation in the tourism sector. The BIMSTEC Bangkok Vision 2030 adopted at the summit emphasizes promoting sustainable and purpose-driven tourism by capitalizing on shared heritage and historical, cultural and people-to-people ties while preparing for increased cross-border and regional mobility of peoples.
Institutional Mechanism
i. BIMSTEC Tourism Ministers’ Roundtable and Workshop
The Ministerial Meeting comprises the Ministers dealing with tourism sector of the Member States. It has met two times.
ii. BIMSTEC Senior Official’s Meeting on Tourism
The Senior Officials’ Meeting comprises of the Secretaries/ appropriate Senior officials of BIMSTEC Member States dealing with tourism sector. The Sector Officials’ Meeting on Tourism held before the BIMSTEC Tourism Ministers’ Roundtable.
iii. BIMSTEC Working Group Meeting on Tourism
The Working Committee Meeting comprises senior officials of the Member States dealing the tourism sector. The Working Group decides on the programme priorities, expenditure of BIMSTEC Tourism Fund, preparation of concrete proposals and to follow up the progress on the Plan of Action.
Accordingly, the First Meeting of BIMSTEC Tourism Working Group held in New Delhi, India on 23 September 2013 decided to set up the Tourism Fund with one-time contribution of US$ 10,000.00 by each Member State which will be supporting the activities approved by the Tourism Working Group. The BIMSTEC Tourism Fund is currently being administrated by the BIMSTEC Information Centre in India.
The Second Meeting of the BIMSTEC Working Group on Tourism was held on 17–18 January 2024 in Kathmandu, hosted by Nepal as the Lead Country. The Meeting reviewed the overall status of cooperation under the tourism sub-sector and finalized the updated BIMSTEC Plan of Action on Tourism.
The Third Meeting of the BIMSTEC Working Group on Tourism convened on 18 March 2025 in Colombo, Sri Lanka deliberated on BIMSTEC Tourism Policy Guidelines, operationalizing BIMSTEC Tourism Circuits, organizing annual tourism events, facilitating visas for tourists, enhancing banking facilities for tourists and operationalizing BIMSTEC Tourism Development Fund etc.
iv. Network of Tour Operators
BIMSTEC Network of Tour Operators consists of representatives of national tourism organizations and private stakeholders of tourism industries from all Member States. This mechanism promotes tourism, implements plan of action and coordinates to operate BIMSTEC tourism circuits
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The Seventeenth Session of the BIMSTEC Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) held on 07 February 2017 in Kathmandu, Nepal agreed to create a Network of Tour Operators among the BIMSTEC Member States to promote tourism in the region including the Buddhist Tourist Circuit and luxury cruise.
Accordingly, the First Meeting of BIMSTEC Network of Tour Operators (BNTO) was held on 07 July 2017 in New Delhi, India which made some of the important recommendations including preparation of a common marketing strategy such as creation of a BIMSTEC brand for tourism, developing a common website for tourism promotion, holding annual BIMSTEC Travel Mart/Conclave, developing and sharing a common safety protocols for adventure tourism, enhancing Public-Private Partnership for promotion of Tourism in BIMSTEC region and holding BIMSTEC Annual Convention on Tourism.
BIMSTEC Tourism Conclave was proposed by Nepal to be held in Kathmandu in 2020 with coinciding with the Visit Nepal Year 2020 but it was postponed due to COVID-19
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The Second Meeting of BIMSTEC Network of Tour Operators (BNTO) was held virtually on 08-09 December 2020 in Colombo, Sri Lanka decided to form a committee for preparing an action plan on BIMSTEC Brand of Tourism and the modalities of utilization of BIMSTEC Tourism Fund and recommended to select at least one heritage site from each Member State as well as explore other possible destinations to include in the Circuits and also promote holistic tourism. To form the committee, each Member State will convey the nomination of two Nodal Officers, one from the Government and one from the Tour Operators for the Committee to the Secretariat within 31 December 2020, where the names for the Committee from the Member States were received and sent to India.
The Third Meeting of the BIMSTEC Network of Tour Operators (BNTO) was convened on 06-07 February 2025 in Kathmandu, Nepal. The Meeting reviewed progress on earlier BNTO recommendations and discussed modalities for advancing the BIMSTEC Tourism Circuits, promoting BIMSTEC thematic tourism circuits, enhancing joint marketing initiatives, and strengthening public-private partnerships in tourism promotion and development within the BIMSTEC region.
Key Documents
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