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In this issue:
New Mekong Tourism ED Building on Strong
Foundations
Happy New Year and See You at
ATF Hanoi!
Stakeholders March to the Same Tune in Hue
ACE Sets Sights on Making News
Tourism Officials Meet in Myanmar for TWG-22
Chiang Mai Hosts Prep Meet for Visit GMS Years
ADB Injects US$20 Million Development
Funding
Thailand Flies GMS Flag in Responsible Tourism Awards
Help Protect Mekong's "Biological Treasure Trove"
About the
Mekong Tourism Office
New Mekong Tourism ED Building on Strong
Foundations
The Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office (MTCO) has appointed a new
Executive Director, veteran travel specialist Mason Florence.
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"I am truly excited about being given the
task of promoting the GMS as a single tourist destination," he said.
"It's a dream mission. The Mekong region is my favorite place to travel,
and offers so much in terms of natural beauty, culture and, of course,
food! Plus the people you encounter along the way are among the kindest
and most hospitable on the planet."
Prior to joining the MTCO Mr Florence spent
nearly two decades living and travelling in Asia as a writer,
photographer, tour leader and consultant. His career began in 1990 as a
Kyoto-based reporter for 'The Japan Times' newspaper. He later joined
Lonely Planet Publications, authoring numerous travel guide titles
including 'Japan', 'Kyoto', 'Vietnam', 'Hanoi' and 'Ho Chi Minh City'.
After 12 years in Japan as a travel
journalist and pursuing rural sustainable tourism development work, Mr
Florence relocated to Bangkok in 2002. There he co-founded Talisman
Media Group, publishers of 'Bangkok 101' magazine and various other
publications about art, culture and travel in Asia.
Upon joining the MTCO on November 1, Mr
Florence acknowledged the groundwork laid by his predecessors Stephen
Yong and Peter Semone. "I am grateful for all of the hard work and
dedication put in by Stephen and Peter," he said. "They've left me with
a solid foundation to work from and further develop and initiate a
serious marketing agenda to get the Mekong brand on the world stage."
Stephen Yong, the MTCO's first full time
director, resigned in mid-2007 to join Fastbooking.com a French hotel
booking system.
Peter Semone acted as Senior Advisor to the MTCO in the
interim and relocated to Vientiane in mid-2008 as Chief Technical
Advisor for a Luxembourg Development Project in Lao.
Email
info@MekongTourism.org.
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Happy New Year and See You at
ATF Hanoi!
MTCO wishes its stakeholders and supporters all the very best in 2009
and look forward to meeting as many of you as possible at the
ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF) in Hanoi.
The MTCO's Mason Florence, Christine Jacquemin, and Saengrawee Thongdee
will all be in Hanoi from January 6-12. They will participate in the
NTOs/Ministers meetings on the 7th and 9th respectively, host a media
briefing, and manage an exhibition booth (#A-117) courtesy of the
Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) from the 10th till
12th.
Email
info@MekongTourism.org.
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Stakeholders March to the Same Tune in Hue
MTCO has helped tourism stakeholders take further steps towards
developing a subregional approach to Mekong tourism development at a GMS
Workshop in the UNESCO World Heritage city of Hue, Vietnam.
Organized by MTCO and SNV, with the support of
the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the November 27-28 event allowed some
78 participants to identify key tourism development activities that will
contribute to transforming the Mekong region's transport corridors into
thriving economic corridors.
Presentations on the first day illustrated what is possible, such as
the recently approved Sustainable Tourism Development Project
funded by ADB in Laos on the North-South corridor and in Vietnam along
the East West Economic Corridor (EWEC), JICA and SNV activities on the
EWEC, and the development of a scenic road in Cambodia along the
Southern Economic Corridor.
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November 28 was dedicated to discussing EWEC's constraints to pro-poor
tourism growth—a lack of integrated planning, unreliable transport
services, non-conducive regulations, inappropriate marketing, and
insufficient access to capital—and explored market-based solutions,
providers and facilitators.
A report of the workshop will soon be posted, and a project proposal is
currently being written for potential donors. ADB is
already engaged for a minimum amount of US$2 million.
Download proceedings from the MTCO website.
All the proceedings of the September MTCO workshop in Bangkok on
tourism
and biodiversity and the October MTCO workshop in Vientiane on
profitable partnerships between the private sector and local communities
are also available on the website.
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ACE Sets Sights on Making News
MTCO has gratefully accepted the assistance of the US Agency for
International Development (USAID)'s ASEAN Competitiveness Enhancement
(ACE) Project to develop and implement a content strategy for
www.mekongtourism.org and its e-newsletter 'Mekong Tourism Update'.
Please contact the MTCO at
content@mekongtourism.org
if you wish to contribute news and opinion of interest to Mekong tourism
stakeholders or make a suggestion.
ACE is one of four projects funded by USAID that aim to foster greater
economic integration among the ASEAN countries. ACE emphasizes branding,
marketing, knowledge management, and human resource development
solutions that help tourism industry stakeholders achieve and sustain
competitiveness.
At the regional level, ACE is forging alliances with the ASEAN NTOs and
the ASEAN Tourism Association, with a memorandum of understanding to be
signed at the ASEAN Tourism Forum in Hanoi next month.
For more information about ACE, email
info@ace-advance.com.
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Tourism Officials Meet in Myanmar for TWG-22
GMS Tourism officials met for the 22nd time in
Myanmar in October to discuss important industry issues, including: The
selection of an executive director for the MTCO; MTCO's long term
funding; Rotation between MTCO-member countries, and; Progress on
implementing the MTCO marketing plan.
The 22nd Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) Tourism Working Group (TWG)
Meeting took place October 16-18 at the Aureum Palace Hotel in Nay Pyi
Taw, Myanmar. Officials from China (PRC), Cambodia, Laos (PDR),
Thailand, and Vietnam took part in the meeting, which was hosted by the
Myanmar Ministry of Hotels & Tourism.
Download a summary of the minutes. (PDF 181 KB)
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Chiang Mai Hosts Prep Meet for Visit GMS Years
Public- and private-sector tourism stakeholders from the six GMS
countries gathered in Chiang Mai, Thailand to share information about
special events, festivals, attractions, accommodation, restaurants, and
fuel stations within 50km of the highways linking the GMS countries for
a new GMS Festival Calendar, which will be produced by the Ministry of
Tourism and Sports of Thailand.
The Ministry hosted the Visit GMS Years 2009-2010 preparation meeting
November 27-28 during which a workshop-style exchange of ideas took
place. Some 50 people attended the meeting. Several registered
representatives were unable to attend due to the closure of Bangkok's
two international airports prior to the start of the event.
Email
info@MekongTourism.org.
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ADB Injects US$20 Million
Development Funding
Tourism development in the Mekong region is being given a boost by the
Asian Development Bank (ADB), which is providing US$20 million to Lao
PDR and Vietnam for a "Sustainable Tourism Development Project" that
aims to create jobs for the poor while protecting the environment,
ethnic groups, and minorities.
The project will develop demonstration subprojects for
replication throughout the GMS in four main areas: Natural heritage
conservation; Pro-poor tourism; Corridor development, and; Human
resource development. Activities will include the construction of
handicraft markets, viewing points, small access roads, walking trails,
tourism signage, information and visitor centers, parking areas, small
river piers, community lodges, and protective and sanitary facilities.
The MTCO will be the secretariat for a project steering committee that
will comprise representatives of executing agencies, as well as
observers from the national tourism organizations of the other GMS
destinations.
ADB will provide US$10 million each to Vietnam (loan) and Lao PDR
(grant) to cover most of the project's cost of US$21.98 million. The
balance of funding will come from the two nations themselves.
Download the project report. (PDF 416 KB)
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Thailand Flies GMS Flag in Responsible Tourism Awards
MTCO congratulates the nominees and winners of Wild Asia's 2008
Responsible Tourism Awards, especially those representing Mekong
destinations.
Of the four hospitality categories, Thailand-based providers were
nominated in three of them: Andaman Discoveries, Thailand for
community-run home-stays; Faasai Resort & Spa, Thailand for budget
accommodation; and Six Senses Hideaway Yao Noi, Thailand for luxury and
boutique resorts.
Six Senses won its category.
See the full list of nominees and winners.TOP
Help Protect Mekong's "Biological Treasure Trove"
MTCO supports WWF's assertion that economic development and
environmental protection must go hand-in-hand to alleviate poverty and
protect the region's "biological treasure trove".
More than 1,000 new species have been discovered in the Greater Mekong
region in the last decade, according to a new report launched by WWF.
Among the species recorded were the largest huntsman spider in the
world, a shocking-pink millipede, and a rat thought to have been extinct
for 11 million years.
Most of the species were discovered in Mekong's unexplored jungles and
wetlands, which are "enigmatic and beautiful", according to Dr Thomas
Ziegler, Curator at the Cologne Zoo.
"It doesn't get any better than this," said Stuart Chapman, Director of
WWF's Greater Mekong Programme. "This reaffirms the Greater Mekong's
place on the world map of conservation priorities."
The report, entitled 'First Contact in the Greater Mekong', recommends a
formal, cross-border agreement by the governments of the Greater Mekong
to protect the biodiversity of the region.
Download 'First Contact'. (PDF 5.8 MB) TOP
About the
Mekong Tourism Coordinating 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 Coordinating 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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