Dear Mekong Tourism stakeholder,
We recently returned from Siem Reap to witness the first Cambodia Travel Mart. Our congratulations go out to the Cambodia Ministry of Tourism (MoT) who organized a successful trade show, especially this being the first edition. MoT extended MTCO a free booth to engage with Cambodia tourism organizations and travel operators to help promote the region. MTCO moderated a panel about regional cooperation, and presented our initiatives, especially the Mekong Moments social commerce campaign platform and the Mekong Collection of responsible travel experiences. We were also able to have constructive discussions with the national tourism organizations of all six Mekong countries to discuss active collaboration.
We look forward to hearing from you as always, and hope you enjoy this week's newsletter. And remember: sharing is caring.
Have a great week!
Jens Thraenhart
Executive Director, MTCO
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News & Articles of the Week
News & articles that caught our attention over the past week:
It appears the aim at the end of 2017 is to repurpose, rebrand and reinvest in Yunnan’s tourism industry to the point where it becomes the driving force in terms of sustainable economic progress. ... Read more about it.
Thailand’s tourist industry earned THB1,472,698.81 million from international tourist visits, January to October, an increase of 9.31%, according to the latest data released by the Ministry of Tourism and Sport. ... Read more about it.
A string of new airlines is set to fly to Cambodia in the near future, paving the way for more regional traffic, particularly Chinese, in the destination. ... Read more about it.
Laos and Thailand will officially launch a tourism connection project between the Thai province of Bueng Kan and Laos’ provinces of Borikhamxay and Xieng Khuang next month. ... Read more about it.
Myanmar Tourism Marketing launches during the WTM 2017 in London its completely revamped social media channels which they have been working on for many months. ... Read more about it.
Vietnam is seeing an upward trend in the number of tourists coming from APEC member economies in recent years. APEC comprises 21 member economies, accounting for over 60 percent of foreign tourists to the city. ... Read more about it.
Khiri Travel has unwrapped its “Asia Creative Series” – eight new travel routes in South-east Asia designed to inspire tour operator product managers. ... Read more about it.
Tourism and aviation analysts are discussing methods to deliver dynamic growth to the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS), which is home to more than 20 airlines and serves more than 250 million travellers a year. ... Read more about it.
The tourism ministries of Myanmar and Cambodia are drawing up a joint action plan to market packages that combine both destinations. ... Read more about it.
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Recent Additions to the Mekong Tourism e-Library
This brief outlines the ecotourism model implemented at the Nam Et-Phou Louey National Protected Area (NEPL NPA) in Houaphan Province, Lao PDR (Laos). ... Download for free.
In 2004-2005, at the request of the GMS TWG and with the support of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the first GMS Tourism Sector Strategy (GMS TSS) was formulated. In 2016, the GMS TWG updated the document to guide subregional tourism cooperation through 2025. ... Download for free.
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MTCO Seeks e-Library Contributions
In addition to economic reports, statistical analyses, industry studies, and much more, the Mekong Tourism e-Library hosts contributions in the following new categories:
Multi-Country Journeys & Mekong River Cruises
Tour and cruise operators offering multi-destination tours and cruises (defined as tours or cruises that visit more than one Mekong-region country) are welcome to send their eligible itineraries in PDF format. The objective is to develop a resource for those seeking Mekong experiences for their customers (or themselves).
Tourism Development Projects
Economic development agencies (bilateral or multilateral) and non-government organisations (NGOs) are encouraged to send, in PDF format, scopes of work, terms of reference, reports, and case studies pertaining to tourism-related projects in the Mekong region. The objective is to develop a resource for all Mekong tourism stakeholders.
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MTCO Seeks Tourism Experts
Subject matter experts, such as consultants, executives, and industry journalists, who are active in GMS travel & tourism, are eligible to become “Mekong Tourism Experts“. In return for regular (non-exclusive) business-, trade- or policy-related content, Experts will receive a range of profile-enhancing benefits ... View and register.
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MTCO Seeks Travel Storytellers
MTCO welcomes anyone with a passion for storytelling who wishes to share their unique and unusual travel experiences: multi-destination Mekong journeys and experiences linked to social, cultural, or environmental causes. In return for regular content, Storytellers will receive a range of profile-enhancing benefits ... View and register.
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Mekong Tourism is a collaborative effort between Cambodia, China, Lao, Myanmar, Thailand,
and Vietnam to promote the Greater Mekong Subregion as a single tourism destination.
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