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In this issue:
Three-Country Coastal Tourism Corridor A Step Closer
MTO Hires New Staff and Moves Forward
GMS to Meet Amid Lijiang Splendour
Responsible Tourism Guide Book On Track
ITE in HCMC Promotes GMS
GMS Destinations Doing Well
GMS Travel News At a Glance
Tourism Elevated to Ministerial Level in Vietnam
About the Mekong Tourism Office
Three-Country Coastal Tourism Corridor A
Step Closer
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| Secluded southern
Cambodia beach |
The first meeting of the Southern Tourism Corridor,
Thailand-Cambodia-Vietnam, took place August 24 in Sihanoukville,
Cambodia. Over 30 mostly government sector delegates from the three
countries took part. They discussed the boundaries of the corridor,
tourism activities and destinations that could and should be included,
and initial thoughts on branding, packaging and marketing.
Participants
also identified the border crossings, immigration, customs and security
issues that would need to be addressed. After the meeting, Team Leader
of the Mekong Tourism Development Project in Cambodia, Dr Trevor Sofield
said: "The three governments presented their tourism products along the
southern corridor. Everyone involved in the corridor project can see it
has huge potential. While there are quite a few obstacles to be
overcome, all the participants are eager to make it a reality."
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(L-R) MTO Manager-Operations
Ms Pariyanud "Theresa" Trinikorn, Senior Advisor Mr Peter
Semone and Project Coordinator Ms Christine Jacquemin |
MTO Hires New Staff and Moves Forward
The Mekong Tourism Office (MTO) has entered the 2nd phase of its growth,
with three new appointments. Mr Peter Semone has been appointed Senior
Advisor until January 2008. On August 1, Ms Pariyanud "Theresa"
Trinikorn started as Manager-Operations. Ms Christine Jacquemin, funded
by the French government, took up the post of Project Coordinator on
August 15.
Mr Semone said former MTO Executive Director, Mr Stephen
Yong, left the MTO in good order in July. "The Mekong sub-region
governments thank Stephen for setting up the MTO from scratch and
running it for a year and a half on a limited budget. It was a difficult
job and we are indebted to him. Using the foundations Stephen built, we
are now ready to go to the next level of sub-regional cooperation in the
tourism sector."
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GMS to Meet Amid Lijiang Splendour
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| Lijiang, Yunnan, China |
The 20th meeting of the GMS Tourism Working Group will take place
September 13 in Lijiang, Yunnan, China. Lijiang's old town (including
the Dayan old town, Basha housing cluster and Shuhe housing cluster)
have been an UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997. UNESCO says of
Lijiang: "Its architecture is noteworthy for the blending of elements
from several cultures that have come together over many centuries. Lijiang also possesses an ancient water-supply system of great
complexity and ingenuity that still functions effectively today."
The GMS meeting will focus on the progress of the 28 projects identified
by the GMS tourism sector strategy. The event is being jointly organised
by the China National Tourism Administration and the MTO.
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Responsible Tourism Guide Book On Track
The Responsible Guide to Tourism in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam is
on track for release before the end of 2007. Up to 30 activities,
attractions or outlets in each country will be profiled in one
publication.
The aim is to help visitors enjoy activities that minimise negative
tourism impacts, create income for local people, involve local people in
running the business, conserve natural and cultural heritage, provide
meaningful experiences for tourists, help local people and visitors with
physical disabilities, and build respect between visitors and hosts.The
book is part of the Mekong Tourism Development Project and is being
funded by the NTOs of the three countries. To order a copy, please
contact sschipa@hotmail.com.
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ITE in HCMC Promotes GMS
The International Tourism Exhibition 2007 will be held in Ho Chi Minh
City, October 5-7. Over 150 travel firms from 26 countries have
registered to participate in the exhibition, including 30 from the USA,
14 from Australia, 10 from both China and Japan, eight from Thailand and
six from France. Much of the emphasis will be on the "Jewels of the
Mekong" with the three countries of Lao, Cambodia and Vietnam being
promoted as a single destination.
ITE will be officially opened by the three tourism ministers from those
countries. The event takes place at the Phu Tho Exhibition Centre in
HCMC. For further information contact
itehcmcteam@gmail.com.
Website
www.itehcmc.com.
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GMS Destinations Doing Well
PATA has announced that international tourism arrivals into Cambodia
January-April this year increased 22.6% to 683,982 compared to same
period last year. From January to May, Thailand's arrivals at Bangkok
international airport rose 2.7% to 4.14 million. In the January to June
period arrivals into Vietnam rose 14.7% to 2.11 million. Myanmar,
meanwhile, increased its arrivals 23.7% to 130,406 for the January-May
period. While PATA did not issue statistics for Lao PDR, the Lao
National Tourism Administration reported arrivals increasing at "over
20%" on same period last year.
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GMS Travel News At a
Glance
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Electricity shortages in and around the
tourism hub of Siem Reap in northwest Cambodia are to be eased by an
US$8million ADB loan that will be used to purchase electricity from
Thailand's national grid.
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Cambodia will host its first
international golf tournament. The US$300,000 Johnnie Walker
Cambodian Open will take place at the Phokeethra Country Club
November 29-December 2 in Siem Reap.
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The VNAT reports that in the first six
months this year, tourism arrivals into Vietnam increased nearly
15%. However, the number of Russian arrivals grew 65%. Arrivals from
Italy, Malaysia and Spain all increased more than 50%.
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Bangkok Airways is pushing for the
introduction of a single visa for the GMS. The airline aims to
connect Bangkok to at least three cities in each GMS country by the
end of 2008. The airline's CEO said flights to Sihanoukville, Danang
and a beach resort in Myanmar were on the cards.
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Cambodia will host the 2nd Angkor
International Tourism Exchange (AITEX) 2007 at the Angkor Coex
Convention and Exhibition Centre in Siem Reap, October 1-3. The
country's tourism minister, Dr Thong Khon, is expecting about 250
buyers to meet with 300 tourism-related sellers.
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Tourism Elevated to Ministerial Level in
Vietnam
The government of Vietnam has elevated tourism to ministry level with
the announcement of the formation of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and
Tourism. The newly appointed minister, Mr Hoang Tuan Anh noted that
tourism has grown very quickly in recent years and is now attracting
millions of dollars into the economy and creating thousands of new jobs.
The fate of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism is still to
be formally decided. Analysts say it may amalgamate with the ministry or
could have its own life as an agency of the ministry.
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About the
Mekong Tourism Office
The MTO was established in February 2006. Its four key objectives are
to:-
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Develop and promote the Mekong as a
single destination, offering a diversity of good quality and
high-yielding sub-regional products that help to distribute the
benefits of tourism more widely
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Add to the tourism development efforts of
each GMS country
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Contribute to poverty reduction, gender
equality the empowerment of women
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Promote sustainable development, while
minimising adverse impacts.
Contact Point
Mekong Tourism Office
5th Floor, Office of Tourism Development, Ministry of Tourism & Sports
154 Rama I Road, National Stadium, Bangkok 10330, Thailand
Tel: (66-2) 612-4150/1. Fax: (66-2) 612-4152.
E-mail:
info@MekongTourism.org. Website:
www.MekongTourism.org.
Media enquiries:
media@MekongTourism.org.
Abbreviations
ADB (Asian Development Bank); GMS (Greater Mekong Subregion); IMF
(International Monetary Fund);
MTO (Mekong Tourism Office); SNV (Netherlands Development Organization);
STEP (Sustainable Tourism Eliminating Poverty); UNESCAP (United Nations
Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific); UNWTO (United
Nations World Tourism Organization).
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