Established in 1997, the Lao National Tourism Administration (LNTA) is currently a service agency attached to the Prime Minister's Office, although it is earmarked to become a statutory agency in its own right by 2006. The LNTA comprises Departments of Planning and Co-operation, Tourism and Hotel Management, Development and Training, Marketing and Promotion and Administration, and has branch offices in every province of Laos. It is responsible for preparing draft laws, regulations and rules on the management of tourism and tourism industry; for preparing guidelines and strategies and working out long- and short-term plans on the development of tourism and the tourism industry throughout the country; for promoting the arts, culture and traditions of Laos as a means of attracting foreign visitors; for surveying and planning for the preservation, restoration and renovation or development of tourist sites, including cultural and natural tourism; for providing job opportunities and enabling ethnic people to increase their incomes; for promoting tourism and the tourist industry as a means of improving people's lives and promoting integrated local production; for guiding and supervising the activities of business units in tourism and the tourism industry to ensure that their activities are not detrimental to existing laws, regulations and measures; for implementing the open-door policy on international economic and cultural co-operation within the tourist industry; and for enhancing friendly co-operation with other nations with tourist policies which correspond with those of Laos. At the present time no formal training courses in tourism are offered in Laos, but the LNTA’s Department of Development and Training arranges the occasional short-term training courses in hotel and restaurant management and tour guiding. The LNTA recently launched its National Ecotourism Strategy and Action plan 2004-2010, produced with advice from the SNV Netherlands Development Organisation, which sets out the framework for the development of ecotourism in Laos by: strengthening the institutional arrangements for planning and managing ecotourism growth; supporting training, capacity building and the promotion of good practice; supporting environmental protection and nature conservation; providing socio-economic development and cultural heritage protection for host communities; and developing ecotourism research and information. Existing ecotourism projects include the UNESCO Nam Ha Ecotourism Project in Luang Namtha Province and the Pro-poor Community-based Tourism Project which is operational in Luang Namtha, Luang Prabang, Khammouane and Champassak Provinces. A number of provincial tourism initiatives are also underway, notably those in Savannakhet, Khammouane and Oudomxai Provinces. The LNTA is responsible for the management of the National Ethnic Culture Park and Patuxai Monument and co-publishes Visiting Muong Lao Magazine magazine and Lao National Tourism Administration Guide.