February 2008                                                                                                               www.MekongTourism.org

Official newsletter of the Mekong Tourism Office

In this issue:

MTO Better Defines Development Priorities
ADB and Lao PDR Agree on Second Phase
MTO Appoints New Office Manager
Wanderlust Honours Luang Prabang
Train the Trainers Arrives in Siem Reap
GMS Growth Strong in 2007, Not Exceptional
GMS Travel News at a Glance

About the Mekong Tourism Office

MTO Better Defines Development Priorities

The Cambodian ministerial delegation in Bangkok

GMS Tourism Ministers meeting, January 21, in Bangkok approved a three-stepped approach to implementing the 28 projects of the GMS tourism strategy. The immediate priorities up to 2010 will focus more on human resource development for public officials and vocational training, heightened conservation, the mitigation of negative impacts within natural and cultural heritage sites, the promotion of responsible tourism, and the development of tourism 'corridors', such as the Southern Economic Corridor along the southern coast of Cambodia and the Emerald Triangle linking Thailand, Cambodia and Lao PDR.

Christine Jacquemin

     A priority will be subregional courses in guide training and tourism management in protected areas. The six GMS destinations are also keen to develop small infrastructure projects such as interpretation trails, observatory towers and ecolodges. Ms Christine Jacquemin, MTCO development project coordinator said: "It is appropriate that the six destinations prioritise their implementation plans to meet their unique needs. Projects have to be feasible and sustainable and be able to work well in an operating environment where resources are often limited."
     The GMS Tourism Strategy 2008-2010 and the expected actions that will be taken over the next two years can be read online: text version (Word 174 KB), presentation (PPT 438 KB).  Download the Mekong Tourism Marketing Plan 2008-2011 (PDF 277 KB).

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ADB and Lao PDR Agree on Second Phase

Lao PDR: US$10 million grant

Following the implementation of the first Mekong Tourism Development Project (MTDP) in Lao PDR, the second phase entitled "Sustainable Tourism Development Project" (STDP) is ready for approval. A memorandum of understanding, due to be signed this month, will mobilise a grant of 10 million US dollars. The agreement follows a final mission undertaken by an ADB team and Asia Pacific Projects, the consultancy designing the proposal.
     The STDP will have four main components:

1. Sustainable tourism development to protect natural heritage in Siphandone and Vang Vieng with a waste water management system
2. Human resource development at the provincial level
3. The development of scenic tourism corridors
4. Pro-poor tourism developments in six provinces.

Nine provinces shall benefit from this program: Oudomxai, Saravanh, Champassak, Luang Namtha, Vang Vieng, Houphanh, Sayabouli, Bokeo and Boten.

     The STDP objective is to foster sustainable tourism development practices and develop models which can serve as examples in the GMS countries.

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MTO Appoints New Office Manager

The MTO is pleased to announce the appointment of Ms Saengrawee Thongdee (Sarah) (pictured) as office manager and assistant for development, effective February 1, 2008. Ms Sarah will oversee administrative operations of the MTO and assist Ms Christine Jacquemin and Mr Peter Semone in the implementation of the marketing and development action plans. Ms Sarah holds an MA from Chulalongkorn University Faculty of Arts in Bangkok. She was formerly project coordinator at the university's Environmental Research Institute which helped Thai tourism companies meet European standards for sustainable tourism management.
     The MTO is grateful to Ms Pariyanud Trinikorn (Theresa) who fulfilled her six-month contract on January 31. Ms Theresa will develop her own tourism business specializing in scuba diving.

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Wanderlust Honours Luang Prabang
Readers of Wanderlust travel magazine in the UK have voted Luang Prabang the top city in the world. The consumer publication has already awarded the former Laotian capital in ceremonies in 2006 and 2007. The Vice Governor of Luang Prabang attended the awards ceremony in London on January 31. The full list of award winners will be published in the March edition of the magazine.

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Train the Trainers Arrives in Siem Reap
UNESCAP-UNESCO last week held a "train the trainers" workshop in Angkor, Siem Reap, Cambodia. In the workshop, February 11-16, UNESCO trained guides. UNESCAP, with funding from the French government, brought in specialists to train heritage site managers. The event was organised in cooperation with the Authority for Protection and Management of Angkor (APSARA) and Cambodia's Ministry of Tourism. Similar workshops have already taken place in Hoi An (Vietnam), Ayutthaya (Thailand) and Vat Pou (Lao PDR) last year.

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GMS Growth Strong in 2007, Not Exceptional
Cambodia's international visitor arrivals surged 17.7% in 2007 to reach 1.87 million, according to the latest data supplied to the Pacific Asia Travel Association in Bangkok. Vietnam finished the year with a slightly lower growth rate of 16%, which took arrivals to 4.17 million, over twice as many as Cambodia. Fuelled by a boom in ecotourism, Lao PDR reported growth of no less than 36.5% for the first 10 months of 2007. The growth rate took total international arrivals to a still relatively modest 1.32 million. Thailand reported growth rates of between 3.9 and 5.6% depending on the criteria used. A total of 11.57 million arrivals (excluding overseas Thais) entered Thailand between January and October 2007. Myanmar was the GMS exception. International visitor arrivals for 2007 declined 5.9% to less than 250,000. While GMS growth rates were generally very strong, destinations such as China (17.7%), Bhutan (21.6%), Nepal (27.1%), Bali (34.4%) and Malaysia (19.2%) also posted large growth rates.

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GMS Travel News at a Glance

• The 11th Mekong River Asian Cup will take place in Chiang Rai province, northern Thailand, March 28-30. The event, which is open to the public, will include running, bicycling and swimming events over a three-day period.

• The Yunnan Provincial Tourism Administration predicts that international visitor arrivals will reach 5.6 million by 2010, up from 2.2 million last year. Thailand provides about 80% of international arrivals to Yunnan.

• Movenpick Hotels and Resorts has established a presence in Vietnam. The Swiss company will run the 150-room Movenpick Hotel Hanoi (formerly the Guoman Hotel Hanoi) and the Movenpick Hotel Saigon (formerly the Omni Saigon Hotel). Both hotels are currently being refurbished.

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About the Mekong Tourism Office
The MTO was established in February 2006. Its four key objectives are to:-

• 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

• Add to the tourism development efforts of each GMS country

• Contribute to poverty reduction, gender equality and the empowerment of women

• 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); EU (European Union); GMS (Greater Mekong Subregion); IMF (International Monetary Fund); MTCO (Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office); 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); UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization); UNWTO (United Nations World Tourism Organization).

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