Mekong Tourism UPDATE

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August 2011 www.MekongTourism.org

Official newsletter of the Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office

In this issue:

E-guide to Mekong Responsible Tourism
Myanmar Holds First National Ecotourism Workshop
PATA Gets Smarter Business Model
How Do Host Communities Feel about Tourism
Cambodia Chapter Officers Elected
Vietnam Heritage Tourism Has Room for Growth
Hoi An Building Terracotta Cultural Park

The Green Corner

Advocates Win Battle over Koh Kong River Dredging
EU Grants EUR11 Million for Vietnamese Tourism Project
Champasak-HCMC Cooperation Bears Fruit
Laos’ New Information, Culture and Tourism Minister Assumes Office
Cambodia’s Baphoun Temple Restored
Construction Starts on Tonle Bassac River Bridge

Connecting the GMS

Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam Pledge to Further Boost Tourism
GMS Tourism Execs Attend Sustainable Ecotourism Workshop
International Responsible Tourism Conference Held in Canada
Pu Mat National Park Named UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve
ASEAN Aims to Standardize Tourism Curriculum

Special Announcements

E-guide to Mekong Responsible Tourism

www.mekongresponsibletourism.org is a unique online guide conceived to complement existing travel guides to the Mekong Region, answering to the growing demand for responsible holidays. ... Full story >>

Myanmar Holds First National Ecotourism Workshop

Myanmar’s first national ecotourism seminar was organized by the newly created Myanmar Tourism Board (MTB) under chairmanship of Deputy Minister for Hotels & Tourism U Htay Aung, and was attended by around 90 participants.
During the two-day seminar, 16 specialists and operators from the private and public sector demonstrated their knowledge of the principles of responsible tourism as they apply to nature-based activities, and all were eager to gain support to further develop their ecotourism activities. ... Full story >>

PATA Gets Smarter Business Model

The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) has announced it will be restructuring its business model as the organization looks to better service its members.
PATA Interim Chief Executive Bill Calderwood said the shake-up would see “increased outsourcing of some support services,” ... Full story >>

How Do Host Communities Feel about Tourism

Samantha Chen, founder of Local Perspectives on Tourism (LPT), reported to TRAVPR that LPT is launching an online travel project, featuring in-the-field interviews with local residents in the Mekong Region about the impact of tourism on host communities. ... Full story >>

Cambodia Chapter Officers Elected

The Cambodia Chapter Organizing Committee of the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) met on July 30 to elect its Chapter officers. ... Full story >>

Vietnam Heritage Tourism Has Room for Growth

Vietnam offers a “gold mine” of cultural heritage, some of which are overexploited, while others remain hidden treasures.
According to Vietnam Tourism Development Research Institute Deputy Director Dr Pham Trung Luong, Vietnam considers its cultural heritage as a competitive edge in developing tourism, ... Full story >>

Hoi An Building Terracotta Cultural Park

Hoi An authorities plan to develop Vietnam’s first cultural park that highlights the central region’s historic terracotta pottery trade.
The Thanh Ha Terracotta Cultural Park is scheduled to open in July 2013 at a site 3 km west of the Hoi An world heritage town. ... Full story >>

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The Green Corner

Pigs Answer the Call to Assist Thailand's Chang Island into Going Low Carbon

Koh Chang (Elephant) Island, located 240 km southeast of Bangkok, is turning to pigs as part of its goal to transform the resort area into ... Full story >>

Thailand Goes Green in Samut Songkhram

Located 72 km southwest of Bangkok, Samut Songkhram Province boasts the popular beach resorts of Hua Hin and Cha-am, and though best ... Full story >>

Central Vietnam Touts Green Tourism

Bach Ma National Park in central Vietnam’s Thua Thien-Hue Province is being touted as a rising ecotourism destination due to its year-round ... Full story >>

Thailand Talks Green

Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Governor Suraphon Svetasreni told delegates at the “Thailand Goes Green” forum held ... Full story >>

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Advocates Win Battle over Koh Kong River Dredging

Ecotourism operators and conservation groups in Cambodia's Koh Kong province are urging the government to stop sand dredging operations on the Tatai River, as they are destroying eco-businesses and decimating fish stocks, and their efforts are paying off. According to an ABC Radio Australia broadcast presented by Clara Tran, sand is being dredged out of ... Full story >>

EU Grants EUR11 Million for Vietnamese Tourism Project

An action plan for the EUR11 million “Environmentally and Socially Responsible Tourism Capacity Development Program” was discussed at a seminar in Hanoi on 22 July.
This is the second project funded by the European Union (EU), following the recently completed “Tourism Human Resources Development” project in 2010.
Of the project’s total investment, ... Full story >>

Champasak-HCMC Cooperation Bears Fruit

Champassak Tourism Association (CTA) Chairman Somleth Phosalath said on July 18 that the tourism cooperation agreement signed in 2009 with the Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Association is showing positive results.
She said the number of Vietnamese visitors to Laos’ Champasak Province in 2010 sharply increased over that of the previous year, and this trend should continue due in part to the resumption ... Full story >>

Laos’ New Information, Culture and Tourism Minister Assumes Office

Professor Dr Bosengkham Vongdara has officially assumed the post of Laos’ Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism on Tuesday, 12 July, replacing Mounkeo Oraboun, who has led the ministry since 2005 and plans to retire.
A ceremony to finalize the position change took place at the capital’s National Culture Hall, and was attended ... Full story >>

Cambodia’s Baphoun Temple Restored

Cambodia’s government held an opening ceremony 3 July for the ancient Khmer Baphuon Temple, located 8.5 km from Siem Reap, after a 50-year renovation.
The USD14-million project, funded by the French government, was described as “the world’s largest puzzle.” Baphoun Temple was originally constructed of 300,000 sandstone blocks. ... Full story >>

Construction Starts on Tonle Bassac River Bridge

Cambodia has commenced construction of a new bridge spanning the Tonle Bassac River.
The 855 meter-long Takhmao Bridge will cross the river 13 km ... Full story >>

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Connecting the GMS

Planned Cambodia-Vietnam Rail to Cost USD686 Million

A railway line linking Cambodia to Vietnam will cost USD686 million, according to a recently concluded feasibility study. ... Full story >>

Lao Airlines Expands Regional Network

Lao Airlines has resumed services from Luang Prabang to Xishuangbanna in China’s Yunnan Province and plans to start a service ... Full story >>

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Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam Pledge to Further Boost Tourism

SAVANNAKHET, LAOS, 1 July 2011 – Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam pledged further cooperation in developing tourism among three adjoining provinces: Savannakhet (Laos), Mukdahan (Thailand), and Quang Tri (Vietnam).
The commitment was made at the 7th Technical Conference on Tourism held in Savannakhet last week. The meeting was co-chaired by Savannakhet Deputy Governor Khamphuey Phanthachon, ... Full story >>

GMS Tourism Execs Attend Sustainable Ecotourism Workshop

SUBIC BAY, PHILIPPINES, 1 July 2011—Instructors, project officers, managers, and tourism authorities from the governments of Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam joined other Asian nations at a 10-day (14-24 June) training workshop at the International School of Sustainable Tourism (ISST) in Subic.
The Planning and Management of Ecotourism training course for trainers was organized by Tokyo-based ... Full story >>

International Responsible Tourism Conference Held in Canada

EDMONTON, CANADA, 30 June 2011 – The International Centre for Responsible Tourism – Canada hosted the 5th International Conference on Responsible Tourism in Destinations (RTD5) on 26-29 June 2011, in Edmonton, Alberta, which attracted 193 delegates from over 20 countries.
The conference was co-chaired by ICRT- Canada Director Laura McGowan and Professor Harold Goodwin ... Full story >>

Pu Mat National Park Named UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve

HANOI, 30 June 2011 – UNESCO recently classified Pu Mat National Park, located in Vietnam’s central Nghe An Province, a World Biosphere Reserve, the largest in Southeast Asia at 1.3 million ha. The park includes the Pu Huong and Pu Hoat reserve zones, creating a 500-km ... Full story >>

ASEAN Aims to Standardize Tourism Curriculum

BANGKOK, 27 June 2011 – Thailand’s Ministry of Tourism and Sports is working on a standardized tourism curriculum for the ASEAN Mutual Recognition Arrangements (MRA) on Tourism Professionals in preparation for the ASEAN Economic Community 2015. This initiative aims to ensure tourism professionals can compete for jobs when the ASEAN ... Full story >>

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Special Announcements

Kaye Chon to Keynote 4th LANITH Symposium

Renowned tourism educator and recent recipient of the prestigious UNWTO Ulysses Prize Professor Kaye Chon will present ... Full story >>

World Ecotourism Conferences Heads to Cambodia

The third World Ecotourism Conference (WEC) 2011 will be held in Sihanoukville, Cambodia, from 3 to 5 October. Laos and ... Full story >>

Wanted: Responsible Tourism Tales for ITB Asia

The Responsible Tourism Event is seeking inspiring stories about “making better places for people to live in and better places for people to ... Full story >>

Fourth Sustainable Tourism Masterclass Slated for September

The fourth annual Sustainable Tourism Masterclass will be held in conjunction with the Innovation for Sustainable Development Center ... Full story >>

Visit Laos Year 2012 Plans Countdown

The Lao National Tourism Administration (LNTA) will launch its Visit Laos Year 2012 with a grand ceremony in Vientiane on 31 December 2011 ... Full story >>

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