With this activity SRT Programme supports 8 provinces in developing regional competitive tourism products and enhancing tourism marketing and promotion. And the meeting leaders and high representatives of VNAT and its functional departments participated too.

When opening the meeting, Ms. Ha Thi Nga, Vice Director of Lao Cai People Committee announced the decision to establish the Regional Management Unit Standing Committee of the 8 provinces. The Standing Committee consists of leaders from Provincial Departments of Culture, Sports and Tourism, tasked with consulting and implementing activities within co-operation frameworks of the 8 provinces, and promoting, co-operating with international and domestic organisations to implement sustainable tourism development.

Next, participants were updated with activities of the 8 provinces in 2013. With support from the ESRT Programme, 8 provinces joined the Vietnam International Trade Mart (VITM) on April 2013 in Hanoi, and successfully organized a press conference as part of the VITM to introduce tourism in the North-Western region.

In the remaining of 2013 and in 2014, 8 provinces will together with the ESRT programme implement several activities, including: development of tourism products and promotion; establishment of a multi-stakeholder Destination Management Board of 8 provinces; investment in two pilot commune Community Based Tourism houses; support the establishment of two vocational training centres of tourism in the region withtraining.

The ESRT Programme took the opportunity at this occasion to conduct technical training for the management board of the Northern Highlands website: efficient website administration anddevelopment of the content for the website, the role of e-marketing in regional destination promotion, and prevailing e-marketing techniques.