Destination Mekong – Responsible and Safe Forms of Voluntourism webinar on August 24, 2021

On August 24, Destination Mekong and EPACT International, together with Child Protection Expert Group, co-organized the Destination Mekong – Responsible and Safe Forms of Voluntourism.

It was a very successful event with almost 200 participants to learn how voluntourism plays an important role in sustainable, responsible travel and tourism development in the region.

Thank you very much for such great support from ក្រសួងទេសចរណ៍ Ministry of Tourism, Cambodia and Ministry of Information, Culture, and Tourism, Lao PDR to join the panel discussion and share the valuable insights from best practices implemented in the countries.
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We also would like to thank all the great effort from our MeTAG Child Protection and Education Expert Group to organize and invite Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office to join the webinar.

Destination Mekong arranged the monthly MeTAG Education & Research Group meeting on August 2, 2021
On August 2, there was a productive monthly meeting of the MeTAG Education & Research Group organized by Destination Mekong and facilitated by the Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office discussing some upcoming projects and synergies between the other Expert Groups to create potentials tourism recovery projects.
 
The group has also recently launched the survey. To all tourism and hospitality business owners and executives, please support the MeTAG Education and Research Expert Group by completing this survey via this link https://bit.ly/MeTag-edu.
 
This project aims to launch a consultation on the industry’s emerging needs regarding human capital and opportunities for enhanced collaboration between businesses and education stakeholders.
 
The survey will be available until 31. August 2021.
 
For more details about Education & Research Group, please visit https://www.destinationmekong.com/expert-group/education-research/

Finalists for the 2021 Experience Mekong Showcases announced

PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE DISTRIBUTION

Finalists for the 2021 Experience Mekong Showcases announced
Public Voting is open to support small responsible businesses during these challenging times

Bangkok, July 27th, 2021:  The Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office is announcing the 15 Finalists of the Experience Mekong Showcases 2021 from Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand Viet Nam, as well as Guangxi and Yunnan in PR China.  Finalists from Myanmar this year will be judged differently via an industry panel made up of relevant Mekong Tourism Advisory Group members.  Three thousand eligible votes determined three Experience Mekong Collection members from each of the five participating countries this year for the next round of voting for this prestigious recognition. Now open for a public vote until August 31st, the six Experience Mekong Showcases will be announced at the 2021 Destination Mekong Summit later on this year. To cast your vote, please visit https://www.destinationmekong.com/experience-mekong-showcases2021-voting/

The 15 finalists – 3 from each of 5 member countries of the Mekong Region are:

Note: Myanmar businesses will be judged separately by an expert panel made up of members of the Mekong Tourism Advisory Group (MeTAG).

The Experience Mekong Collection was created four years ago to recognize and encourage sustainable and responsible tourism development in the Greater Mekong Subregion.  

To be appointed as a member of the Experience Mekong Collection, all small travel businesses in the Mekong Region need to fulfill the following requirements:

  1. Make a significant social impact on its community
  2. Provide an authentically local experience positioning the GMS as a responsible, inclusive, and experiential tourism destination.
  3. Have an innovative concept and sustainable business model.

Members of the Mekong Tourism Advisory Group (MeTAG) selected the 60 shortlisted Experience Mekong Collection (EMC) member businesses – twelve from five member countries of the Greater Mekong Subregion from the 300+ members of the Experience Mekong Collection.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the currently active businesses – defined as businesses in communication with us, which is a requirement to be included in the Experience Mekong Showcases program – are currently at nearly 150 businesses.

“Alliances like the Experience Mekong Collection are more important than ever, especially in crises such as during the COVID-19 pandemic, to strengthen resilience both at the destination level, as well as for the individual businesses themselves, via sharing of best practices, networking, cross-promotional activities, and creating operational efficiencies”, says Mr. Jens Thraenhart, outgoing Executive Director of the Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office, and initiator of the Experience Mekong Collection, operated as part of the private-sector-led regional tourism board Destination Mekong. “I am convinced that the Experience Mekong Collection will help accelerate tourism recovery in the region, as well as protect and conserve these locally authentic experiences, which are the treasure trove of the Mekong region.”

“In recognizing the most innovative best practice businesses as the Experience Mekong Showcases, this sets several benchmarks to further improve travel experiences in the Greater Mekong Subregion. As consumer trends and travel behaviors are changing due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we hope this inspires other operators of any size to become involved in responsible and inclusive tourism,” said Mr. Willem Niemeijer, Founder & CEO of Yaana Ventures and current interim Chairman of Destination Mekong.

The 2018 Experience Mekong Collection Showcases included Phare Cambodian Circus (Cambodia), Longji Rice Terraces Guangxi (PR China), Ock Pop Tok (Lao PDR), Inle Heritage Place (Myanmar), Local Alike (Thailand), and Koto (Viet Nam). The 2019 Experience Mekong Collection Showcases included Soksabike (Cambodia), Linden Centre (PR China), Elephant Conservation Centre (Lao PDR), Hla Day (Myanmar), Sampran Riverside (Thailand), and Streets International (Viet Nam). The 2020 Experience Mekong Collection showcase include the Elephant Valley Project (Cambodia), Yangshuo Mountain Retreat (PR China), Laos Buffalo Dairy (Lao PDR), Living Irravaddy Dolphin Project (Myanmar), The Family Tree (Thailand), and Journey of the Senses (Viet Nam). Please see: https://www.destinationmekong.com/initiatives/experience-mekong-showcases/

All members of the Experience Mekong Collection get exposure via Mekong Tourism and Destination Mekong, including MekongTourism.org, DestinationMekong.com, ExperienceMekong.com, and the dedicated Experience Mekong Collection Facebook and Instagram accounts. Experience Mekong Collection members also have priority access to marketing campaigns and have their own dedicated online member-only community to connect with each other.

To help struggling members of the Experience Mekong Collection survive these challenging times during the COVID-19 pandemic, a support page has been created at https://www.destinationmekong.com/projects/support-experience-mekong-collection-members/ to list businesses asking for donations or selling gift certificates. Please support these small businesses by visiting: For more information about the Experience Mekong Collection and its members, please visit www.experiencemekongcollection.com.

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Support us by publishing the voting banner:

Link to: https://www.destinationmekong.com/experience-mekong-showcases2021-voting/

 

About the Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office:

The Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office (MTCO), located in Bangkok, and hosted by the Ministry of Tourism and Sports of Thailand, was set up with funding from the governments of the six Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) countries – Cambodia, the People’s Republic of China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Viet Nam. The MTCO, which operates on annual financial contributions from each GMS country, acts as the secretariat for the GMS Tourism Working Group, comprising of senior officials of the six GMS countries’ National Tourism Organizations, to coordinate and facilitate sustainable tourism development of the GMS, and promotion of the Mekong region as a single travel and tourism destination, in collaboration with the public and private sectors. The MTCO manages its award-winning MekongTourism.org digital platform as a one-stop platform to promote responsible and sustainable tourism in the region, as well as the annual Mekong Tourism Forum, whose hosting is rotated among GMS countries.

Please visit www.MekongTourism.org for more information.

 

About Destination Mekong:

Destination Mekong, located in Phnom Penh, and hosted by the Ministry of Tourism of Cambodia, to promote the Lancang-Mekong region, comprising of Cambodia, PR China (Provinces of Guangxi and Yunnan), Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand and Viet Nam as a single tourism destination to stimulate responsible and sustainable development and investment, and drive inclusive growth. Aligned to the mandate of the Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office, the tourism secretariat of the six-member governments of the Greater Mekong Sub-region, Destination Mekong executes targeted projects and initiatives, including Mekong Moments, Mekong Mini Movie Festival, Mekong Innovations in Sustainable Tourism (MIST), Experience Mekong Collection, Mekong Heroes, and Mekong Trends, the Destination Mekong Summit, with feedback from the Mekong Tourism Advisory Group (MeTAG).  

More information at: www.DestinationMekong.com

Destination Mekong organized MeTAG Food Expert Group meeting on July 20, 2021

On July 20, 2021, it was another good milestone from our MeTAG Food Expert Group during the call facilitated by Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office and organized by Destination Mekong discussing the upcoming projects and how food tourism can contribute and be part of the tourism recovery region.
 
Some good ideas and thoughts were raised to drive resilience as well.

Mekong Tourism Collaboration

Tourism in the Mekong Region is steered collaboratively by a public-private framework between the public and private sectors.

The Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office, which is the secretariat of the Tourism Working Group, and Destination Mekong, which is the destination marketing organization led by private sector partners, are both managing initiatives aligned to the GMS Tourism Strategy to create a sustainable and inclusive environment to support businesses and communities in the Mekong Region and provide benefits for all stakeholders – residents, travelers, and businesses.

Continue reading

Destination Mekong organized the MeTAG Workshop of Health & Wellness Expert Group on June 23, 2021

On June 23, 2021, it was a very engaging conversation and good progress today from the MeTAG Expert Group of Health and Wellness on a workshop to get inputs for the upcoming potential projects.

Fruitful discussion and lots of value contribution from active members in different countries on how health and wellness can drive resilience and tourism recovery in post-pandemic.
 
The recording is available here

Destination Mekong organized the Experience Mekong Collection Members Meeting on June 17, 2021
On June 17, It was a great and interactive call with our Experience Mekong Collection members organized by Destination Mekong. Happy to see how active and engaged our members getting together, especially in these challenging times.
 
There are many productive discussions among members and how the Experience Mekong Collection program can stimulate and support members to prepare for tourism recovery once the borders reopen.
 
Looking forward to fruitful cooperation and seeing all members in the next calls!

SUNx Malta & Mekong Tourism to Stage 1st Strong Earth Youth Summit (SEYS) for Asia

PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE DISTRIBUTION
BANGKOK, 28 APRIL 2021

SUNx Malta in partnership with the Mekong Tourism Collaboration framework, made up of public sector organization Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office (MTCO) and private sector partnership Destination Mekong will host the first ever Climate Friendly Travel Youth Summit for Asia on Friday 30th April 2021. The ‘Strong Earth Youth Summit’ (SEYS) will include lectures, workshops and other educational activities aimed at highlighting the need for a clean and green post-Covid future for the tourism sector, in accordance with the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals and 2050 Paris Agreement.

The virtual event, held on 30 April, is one of three global events run in partnership with Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association (TOTA), British Columbia, Canada; Institute of Tourism Studies, Malta (ITS); and Mekong Tourism.

SEYS will focus on creating awareness of Climate Friendly Travel (CFT) and on fostering ways to encourage changes for a resilient Travel & Tourism future. It aims to promote climate hope in the recovery of the tourism industry through awareness and education, youth empowerment, and engagement and action.

Describing the youth summit, Professor Geoffrey Lipman, President of SUNx Malta, said, “This is not just another of the many Travel & Tourism summits. SEYS is designed for tomorrow’s leaders by tomorrow’s leaders – the 45 students from 30 countries we have on our first ever Climate Friendly Travel Diploma Course with ITS Malta. We charged them with creating an event that would be meaningful and attractive for the “Greta Thunberg crowd”.

“SEYS will identify the core issues for the post–pandemic green and clean tourism sector. Our students are putting together a fast and fun program, with engaging speakers, who will captivate a global youth leadership audience.”

The Asia Summit include a range of speakers from Climate Change and Tourism experts such as Dr Susanne Becken, to the CEOs of Asia Travel specialists Willem Niemeijer of Yaana Ventures and Hamish Keith of EXO Travel followed by Q&A sessions.

Jens Thraenhart, Executive Director of the Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office said:

“We are proud to be partnering with SUNx on this important initiative. Tourism has an essential role to play in the fight against Climate Change and it is through the next generation of change-makers that this transformation will take place. The Mekong is a region heavily dependent on tourism and we want to ensure that its long-term development is based on a Sustainable strategy which places Climate Change at the top of the agenda.”

SEYS will honour the vision and contribution of the late Maurice Strong, a close friend of Lipman, after whom the summit is named. Strong was the architect of the UN Sustainable Development and Climate Framework for half a century, and inspiration for SUNx Malta and its Climate Friendly Travel System.

“SEYS will be the first of an annual testimony to the legacy of Maurice Strong, Champion for the planet, who warned about the Climate Crisis 50 years ago and spent the rest of his life building the UN framework to respond to it,” says Lipman.

SEYS will also launch the Strong Awards to encourage students to profile Breakthrough Innovations in Climate Friendly Travel, together with Les Roches Hospitality School.

 

For more information on SEYS or to register, visit http://www.thesunprogram.com/summit

or use one of the buttons below to register for the individual events:

British Columbia / Americas Thursday 29th 09:00 (Pacific Time)

Asia-Pacific / Mekong Friday 30th April 14:00 (Bangkok)

Malta / Europe Middle – East Africa Friday 30th April (CEST)

 

About SUNx Malta

SUNx Malta is a not for profit, EU based, organisation, partnered with the government of Malta that has created a unique, low cost, system to help Travel & Tourism companies and communities transform to the New Climate Economy. The SUNx Malta “Green & Clean, Climate Friendly Travel System” is Action and Education focused – supporting today’s companies and communities to deliver on their proclaimed ambitions and encouraging tomorrow’s young leaders to prepare for rewarding careers across the sector.

 

About Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office (MTCO)

The Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office (MTCO), located in Bangkok, was set up with funding from the governments of the six Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) countries – Cambodia, the People’s Republic of China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Viet Nam. The MTCO, which operates on annual financial contributions from each GMS country, acts as the secretariat for the GMS Tourism Working Group, comprising of senior officials of the six GMS countries’ National Tourism Organizations, to coordinate and facilitate sustainable tourism development of the GMS, and promotion of the Mekong region as a single travel and tourism destination, in collaboration with the public and private sectors. The MTCO manages its award-winning MekongTourism.org digital platform as a one-stop platform to promote responsible and sustainable tourism in the region, as well as the annual Mekong Tourism Forum, whose hosting is rotated among GMS countries.

Please visit www.MekongTourism.org for more information.

 

About Destination Mekong:

Destination Mekong was created in 2017 to promote the Mekong region, comprising of Cambodia, PR China (Provinces of Guangxi and Yunnan), Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand and Viet Nam as a single tourism destination to stimulate responsible and sustainable development and investment, and drive inclusive growth. Supporting the mandate of the regional collaborative tourism framework of the six-member governments of the Greater Mekong Sub-region, Destination Mekong is the regional destination marketing organization, and is owned and funded by the private sector of the travel and tourism industry in the six countries of the Greater Mekong Subregion. Destination Mekong initiates, develops, and operates various programs and initiatives, aligned to the strategic plan of the regional Mekong Tourism collaboration, published by the six member tourism ministries via its secretariat, the Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office. Destination Mekong is governed by a Board of Directors, overseen by a Chair, and managed by a staff funded by Destination Mekong membership fees and program revenue streams. Initiatives include the award-winning Mekong Moments and Mekong Mini Movie Festival campaigns, the Mekong Innovations In Sustainable Tourism (MIST) program, the Experience Mekong Collection & Showcases, Mekong Heroes, and Mekong Trends. Destination Mekong also hosts its (Virtual) Destination Mekong Summit, in partnership with MTCO. Destination Mekong manages the Mekong Tourism Advisory Group (MeTAG), and organizes various virtual events in collaboration with MTCO.

 

Please visit www.DestinationMekong.com for more information.



Media Contact

For further press information, images, or to arrange interviews with Professor Lipman, contact Olly Wheatcroft, Program Manager SUNx Malta at: olly@thesunprogram.com.

 

For further press information, images, or to arrange interviews with Jens Thraenhart, contact Nattakorn Asunee Na Ayudhaya, Operations Manager Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office at: ton@mekongtourism.org.