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.

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2019 MIST Winners Announced

This year, MIST was held in Bangkok together with the new Travel Startups Asia Forum, featuring startup stories from successful travel ventures and MIST Alumni. The opening keynote was given by Senator and former Minister of Tourism and Sports of Thailand HE Mr Weerasak Kowsurat who linked the importance of innovation and entrepreneurship to tourism development in Thailand and the Mekong Region. The closing keynote was given by founder of Nok Airways Mr Patee Sarasin, who gave valuable insights from his experiences in starting an airline in Southeast Asia.

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Global Report on Inclusive Tourism Destinations

This Global Report: Inclusive Tourism Destinations has been drawn up by the team of the globaldit firm with the World Tourism Organization. It sets out a Model for inclusive tourism destinations from a supply point of view, in which inclusion refers to the capacity of the tourism system to integrate disadvantaged groups so that they can participate in, and benefit from, tourism activity. The model is made up of a set of principles, definitions and public policy tools that have proved to be appropriate in various places and contexts for improving access to tourism activities for the most disadvantaged groups in society, converting them into suppliers of tourism services or suppliers to the sector.

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