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In this issue:
Vietnam Community Reps
Study Thailand Tourism
Vientiane is Venue for
the Third GMS Summit
The Mekong Challenge: Reduce
Carbon Emissions in the Travel Sector
Ecosystem Grants Deadline
April 10
PATA Gold Awards 2008
Accepting Entries
Kerala to Host International
Responsible Tourism Conference
Conference on Sustainable
Tourism Management at Heritage Sites
GMS Travel News at a Glance
About the
Mekong Tourism Office
Vietnam Community Reps Study
Thailand Tourism
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| Tourism strategy workshop
at MTCO |
Local community representatives from Vietnam learned firsthand about
Thailand tourism development and marketing during a study group meeting
organised last month by the Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office (MTCO) in
Bangkok.
Mr Anothai Udomsilp, Director of General Affairs
Division, Office of Tourism Development (OTD), Ministry of Tourism and
Sports, discussed OTD activities and Thailand's tourism strategy during
the one-day workshop attended by 11 delegates from Tien Giang province, in
the Mekong delta region of southern Vietnam. Also during the meeting, Mr
Peter Semone, MTCO Senior Advisor, briefed the group on Mekong Tourism
activities.
The MTCO workshop was part of a 5-day study tour of
tourism development in Thailand. The participants were local community
representatives of the Mekong Tien Giang Tourism Development Project and
Tien Giang Project Management Unit (TG PMU). Funded by the Asian
Development Bank (ADB), the project includes community-based tourism
development, including tourism information centres, a river pier and
internal roads to access handicraft villages.
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Vientiane is Venue for the Third GMS
Summit
Leaders of the six GMS countries will be meeting in Vientiane, Lao PDR,
on March 30-31 to discuss the progress and chart future directions in
GMS cooperation.
"Enhancing Competitiveness Through Greater Connectivity" is the theme of
the triennial meeting. Its aims are to sustain and deepen economic
cooperation and integration efforts among the GMS countries in order to
better meet development challenges and realize the common vision of an
integrated, harmonious and prosperous subregion.
The First Summit in 2002 was held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, while
Kunming, China PRC, was the venue in 2005 for the Second Summit. Third
GMS Summit
information and
programme.
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The Mekong Challenge: Reduce Carbon
Emissions in the Travel Sector
Many of the best minds and personalities in the travel industry will
convene at the 'PATA CEO Challenge: Confronting Climate Change', April
29-30 in Bangkok. Leaders of many national, state and city tourism
offices as well as CEOs of airlines, hotel chains and major tour
operators will attend, including leaders from the Tourism Authority of
Thailand, VisitBritain, the Canadian Tourism Commission, Tourism New
Zealand, the Korea Tourism Organization, Tourism Tasmania, Tourism
Vancouver, the Sri Lanka Tourism Board and the UNWTO.
From the private sector, CEOs and leaders of Banyan
Tree, Six Senses, Cathay Pacific, Qantas, Marriott, Accor, First Choice
Holidays/TUI Travel, Emirates Holidays, Carlson Hotels Worldwide, Asian
Trails, Diethelm Travel, Lonely Planet, and many more, will be there.
To find out more, click
here to watch the online video. Members of travel associations
supporting the PATA CEO Challenge are eligible for the PATA member
registration fee of US$1,390 (a US$300 saving on the US$1,690 non-member
fee).
Green Globe will apply its science and systems to help
significantly reduce the carbon footprint of key elements of the PATA
CEO Challenge 2008. CEO Challenge
website.
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Ecosystem Grants Deadline
April 10
April 10 is the deadline for submitting pre-proposals seeking financial
assistance, up to Euro 25,000, from the Tourism & Biodiversity Fund, a
programme supported by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs (DGIS). The
fund is part of the IUCN NL Ecosystem Grants Programme (EGP) and aligned
to the IUCN Global Program.
Projects in Cambodia, Lao PDR and Vietnam are eligible.
Local NGOs, Community-Based Organisations (CBOs) and local private
sector companies with a proven commitment to ecosystem conservation and
the sustainable use of natural resources can apply for a grant.
The general objectives of the EGP programme are:
1. To promote sustainable use of land
and ecosystem resources
2. To protect ecosystems and biodiversity
3. To create an enabling environment at local, national and
international levels
Click
here for more information and to download an application form.
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PATA Gold Awards 2008 Accepting Entries
The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA)
is now inviting industry stakeholders who have made outstanding
contributions to responsibly develop and successfully promote travel and
tourism in Asia Pacific to submit entries to the 2008 PATA Gold Awards
programme. Deadline for entries is April 30.
Judged by panels of experts, the Gold Awards recognise
exceptional achievement in six broad categories: Marketing Campaign,
Environment, Heritage & Culture, Education & Training, Marketing Media
and Travel Journalism.
In total, PATA will present up to 25 PATA Gold Awards and four elite
PATA Grand Awards at a special luncheon on September 19, during PATA
Travel Mart 2008 in Hyderabad, India.
PATA Gold Awards details, entry forms and information
about past winners are available at
www.PATA.org/goldawards.
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Kerala to Host International
Responsible Tourism Conference
Aimed at creating more awareness about the responsible tourism practices
across the world, the Incredible India Second International Conference
on Responsible Tourism in Destinations is being held March 21-24 in
Kerala, India. Organised by Kerala Tourism and International Centre for
Responsible Tourism (India), with India Tourism as a partner, the
conference objectives include:
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Review progress towards Responsible
Tourism around the world since 2002, including initiatives in
destinations as well as those of hotels and tour operators.
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Share good practices and experiences of
successes and failures from destinations both developed and
developing.
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Discuss how tourism can contribute to
local economic development and poverty reduction.
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Consider how the environmental impacts
can be effectively managed by the industry.
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Evaluate the experiences of managers,
tour operators and hoteliers in India who have undertaken activities
to deepen responsible tourism.
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Reflect on Kerala's experience of
working towards being a Responsible Tourism destination and to share
it internationally.
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Arrive at a common declaration on the
state of the responsible tourism movement in the world that will
charter the way forward.
Website.
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Conference on
Sustainable Tourism Management at Heritage Sites
The UNWTO/UNESCO Conference on
Sustainable Tourism Management at Heritage Sites is being
held in Huangshan, China, March 24-27.
Jointly organised by the World Tourism Organization and
UNESCO, the 4-day conference will tackle specific issues
related to heritage areas in site management with a view to
advocating sustainability principles. The conference will
focus on the following key policy issues, through
presentations from a range of countries and sites,
interactive debates and field exercises.
Programme.
Website.
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GMS Travel News
at a Glance
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Written by local contributors, the
French language edition of Natural Guide Thailand is now
available in bookstores and online while the English version is
close to release.
Website.
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First introduced to Vietnam in the
1990s by a French group, adventure tours are growing in popularity
among travellers, says VNAT.
Full story.
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Thailand, home to 62 birding sites and
960 species of birds (about 10% of the world's total), is a hot spot
for birdwatchers, say the TAT.
Full story.
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The Asia Development Bank (ADB) will
assist Laos with a US$10 million grant for sustainable tourism
projects to improve both tourist facilities and human resources for
tourism.
Full story.
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Myanmar New Year's
is from April 11 to 20 and the country-wide "Thingyan" Water Festival
celebrations will be from April 13 to 17.
Full story.
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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 and 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); 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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