On April 24, the 2024 Mekong Tourism Forum was held in Lijiang, Yunnan Province, hosted by the Bureau of International Exchange and Cooperation of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Yunnan Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism, Lijiang Municipal People's Government, and the Mekong Tourism Coordination Office. Zhang Zheng, Vice Minister of China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Su WeiMo, Executive Director of the Mekong Tourism Coordination Office, Wang Hao, Vice Governor of Yunnan Province, and Pu Hong, Secretary of Lijiang Municipal Party Committee, attended the forum and delivered speeches. Senior officials from tourism authorities of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and other countries, relevant international organizations and relevant local tourism authorities in China, Chinese and foreign tourism enterprises and media representatives of about 200 people attended the forum.

Forum guests highly valued the important role of tourism cooperation for the sustainable economic development and inclusive growth of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS), introduced the development of China's tourism industry, especially inbound and outbound tourism, as well as its entry and visa policies, and put forward recommendations for joint efforts to build a regional tourism brand, sustainably enhance the resilience of the tourism industry, and promote the new quality of productive forces to empower the development of the tourism industry in accordance with local conditions. Two parallel sub-forums on "Crossing Bridges, Building Connections, Promoting Cultural Integration and Prosperity" and "Unleashing Potential: Strengthening International Cooperation for Tourism Growth" were held concurrently, as well as the 53rd GMS Tourism Working Group Meeting and the GMS Tourism Cooperation Achievement Exhibition.