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In this issue:
Micro, SME Project Encourages Tourists to Spend "Off the Beaten Path"
Thammasat University Developing ASEAN Tourism Strategic Plan
Campaign for Wildlife Conservation Kicks Off in Laos
Rewarding Bicycle Odyssey Along the Mekong
Japan-Mekong Summit Wraps Up
ADB Approves US$10 Million Loan To Cambodia
Thai - Cambodia spat threatens to derail Trans-Asian Railway
News in Brief
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Learn, Share, Engage at www.MekongTourism.org
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Micro, SME
Project Encourages Tourists to Spend "Off the Beaten Path"
Phnom Penh, 23 November 2009 -- Participants from the tour operator sector, provincial departments of tourism and community ecotourism
projects gathered to raise the awareness of secondary tourism destinations in Cambodia.
The "Hidden Treasures Cambodia"
initiative, organized by the USAID Cambodia Micro Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) Project, marks the recognition of six winners (out of
14 applications), assessed on a number of criteria including environmental and social sustainability, attractiveness, accessibility, and
marketability. The Contest ran through July and August this year with the objective of creating a greater awareness of secondary tourism
destinations in Cambodia.
Curtis Hundley, Chief of Party for USAID's Cambodia MSME Project, says the focus of the competition is to initially increase
the awareness of the country's secondary destinations, where the potential for tourism development and increased visitation is high.
"Cambodia has achieved world fame in the tourism arena, and with that, large visitor increases year on year. The economic
growth opportunities from tourism have the potential to provide income and job opportunities for all Cambodians, particularly in the
secondary or provincial destinations where the incidence of poverty is its highest."
Among the destination's products and services include guided boat tours, bike tours through the rural Cambodian countryside,
traditional dance and music performances, village home-stays near interesting sites, ancient temples, bird watching and much more.
Specifically, those of the six winners are:
1. Chambok Community-Based Ecotourism in Kompong Speu province
2. Banteay Chhmar Community-Based Tourism, in Banteay Meanchey
province
3. Phare Ponleu Selpak in Battambang province
4. Peam Krasop Eco-Tourism Community in Koh Kong province
5. Tataikrom Nature Tourism Community in Koh Kong province
6. Chi Phat Community Based Eco-tourism in Koh Kong province
The USAID Cambodia MSME Project is a gift to Cambodia from the
American People. It is implemented by Development Alternatives, Inc., (DAI) and a consortium of supportive partners that possess the
skills and understanding of the Cambodian business environment and are dedicated to improving the lives of thousands of rural Cambodian
businesses.
Source: CambodiaMSME.org
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Thammasat University Developing ASEAN Tourism Strategic Plan
Thammasat University, has signed an agreement with an United States Agency for International Development (USAID) project to oversee the
development of a new five-year strategic plan for guiding ASEAN's tourism industry. The agreement ensures input of multiple stakeholders in
the development of the plan: private, public, and academic.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Tourism
Strategic Plan (ATSP): 2011 -- 2015 will encompass a broad vision, making strategic and actionable recommendations across a wide range of
topics including marketing and branding; product development; human resource development; quality standards; investment strategies; cruise
development; crisis management and communications; border, customs, and immigration policy; and infrastructure.
At the 30th Meeting of the ASEAN National Tourism
Organizations (NTOs) in Phnom Penh, Cambodia in July, the NTOs formally requested the ASEAN Competitiveness Enhancement (ACE) Project take the
lead in developing the ATSP: 2011 -- 2015. Based in Bangkok ACE's objective is to enhance the integration and competitiveness imperatives of
two of ASEAN's priority sectors: travel & tourism and textiles & apparel. The ACE Project is part of the broader ASEAN-US Enhanced Partnership
launched in 2006, under which the United States pledged its support to ASEAN in pursuing its objective of becoming an ASEAN Community by 2015.
Thammasat's scope of work will include a review of ASEAN
declarations relating to tourism; consultation with public and private sector stakeholders; an assessment of projects initiated under RITS;
the identification of priority activities; and the formulation of a vision and set of strategies and that if implemented would lead to the
successful regional integration of tourism by 2015. ACE and Thammasat are expected to present a finalized ASEAN Tourism Strategic Plan to the
ASEAN NTOs meeting in October/November 2010.
The Thammasat team is led by Ms. Pawinee Sunalai and Prof.
Dr. Walter Jamieson. Dr. Jamieson has over 35 years of experience and Ms. Pawinee has 11 years of experience working in tourism planning and
development in the region.
Press Release
Thammasat University, College of Innovation
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Campaign for
Wildlife Conservation Kicks Off in Laos
The Lao Wildlife Trade Campaign was launched coinciding with the 25th Southeast Asian Games, to be held in Vientiane on 9-18 December 2009.
The regional event provides a very opportune moment to emphasize importance of Lao biodiversity and the illegality of the wildlife trade to
both Lao citizens and foreign visitors.
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Domestic, regional and international demand for wildlife
products are the major drivers for the depletion of species such as Indochinese tigers, pangolins, Asian elephants and freshwater turtles and
tortoises in the Lao PDR and neighboring countries. The loss of these species, among many others, significantly contributes to the crisis of
biodiversity loss facing our planet. In global terms, illegal wildlife trade is the third largest illegal trade, after arms and drugs
estimated by Interpol to be worth US$ 10-20 billion each year.
The Lao Wildlife Campaign is a joint initiative of the government of Laos, the "ElefantAsia", the "Free the Bears Fund", the
Freeland Foundation, Green Discovery Laos, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the Save the Tiger Fund, the Sustainable
Forestry and Rural Development (SUFORE) project, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), the World
Bank, and corporate sponsors Tiger Beer, Tigo Lao, Nam Theun 2 Power Company and Theun Hinboun Power Company.
Source: KPL
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Rewarding Bicycle Odyssey Along the Mekong
TTR Weekly’s Mekong Odyssey 09, an 18-day cycle tour from Chiang Rai to Ubon Ratchathani, following the Mekong River, reached its target of
1,600 km, or 1,000 miles. The ride raised Bt80.000 for charity.
Friends and colleagues in travel helped to raise funds for The Prostheses Foundation of HRH the Princess Mother, based on
baht donations multiplied by the km cycled over the entire ride.
Chiang Rai resident and photographer, Peter Brierley, joined TTR Weekly’s editor, Don Ross. In their 60s, they are both long-time residents of
Thailand and members of the Peloton de Bangkok cycling club.
They set out on a route from Chiang Rai that took them to Nan, Dansai, Loei to connect with the Mekong River at Chiang Khan.
From there they followed the Mekong River stopping at small resorts along the way. Route highlights included visits to Nong Khai, Nakhon
Phanom, That Phanom, Mukdahan and finally Khrong Chiam where the Mekong sweeps east into southern Laos. The ride ended in Ubon Ratchathani
province having clocked 1,612 km.
While a key objective was to raise support for the foundation, the other was to track the tourism potential of the Mekong
River as it wends a path between Thailand and Laos. The ride also confirmed just how safe and secure this region is for visitors, even those
who are travelling with just a bike and pannier bags.
Yet, they also concluded that the region’s tourism assets and the role of the Mekong River are vastly
understated with very few of the picturesque towns on its banks included in tour itineraries.
"The Mekong River trail through Thailand should be a classic discovery route for cyclists, motor
cyclists and even tourists who opt for self-drive car rental. The trick is to slow down, do fewer kilometres and enjoy side trips off the
highway to explore riverside villages and attractions."
Throughout the 1,600 km odyssey, they discovered small resorts with restaurants, some of them even having free internet and
usually positioned on the riverside at comfortable 50 to 60 km intervals.
"We were never too far from a resort or a place to stop for a meal. This was civilised, but not exactly credit card touring
as very few of the resorts bother with plastic money. The Odyssey confirmed that travel in the Mekong Region can be vastly rewarding," they
concluded.
Mekong
Odyssey 09 Blogs and Trip Map.
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Japan-Mekong Summit Wraps Up
Japan pledged US$5.6 billion in new aid to the Mekong region after concluding a summit aimed at strengthening its partnership with the
Southeast Asian region.
Country leaders issued a "Tokyo declaration" committing Japan's ODA help for 63 projects in the region, including developing
ports, airports and power lines, encouraging private sector investment as well as inviting 30,000 people, to visit Japan, promoting exchange
and understanding over the next three years.
Eighty percent of the package would be in low-interest yen loans, a government official said.
Japan and China have poured aid and investment into the region, home to more than 220 million people, and are seen
increasingly as competitors for influence. Much of the region along the lower reaches of the 4,800km-long Mekong River has historically been
isolated by war and political turmoil and remains poorer than other parts of Southeast Asia.
The leaders agreed on an action plan to promote development, protect the environment and fight climate change under the
slogan "A decade towards the Green Mekong."
Source:
Taipei Times
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ADB Approves US$10 Million Loan To Cambodia
(RTTNews) - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved a US$10 million loan to Cambodia, designed to ease the effects of the global
slowdown and improve Cambodia's financial system. This is part of the ongoing ADB second sector program support which assists the country in
further developing its financial system.
The ADB notes the Cambodian economy grew more than 9% between 2001 and 2008, at the same time reducing overall poverty.
However, the global economic crisis had affected its garment export, tourism and foreign investment, ultimately threatening to slow that
growth.
The loan would be for a period of 24 years, with a grace period of eight years. The interest rate would be 1% during the
grace period and 1.5% during the rest of the time.
Source: INO
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Thai - Cambodia spat threatens to derail Trans-Asian Railway
The diplomatic crisis between Thailand and Cambodia is threatening completion of the final link in the $15 billion Trans-Asian railway running
from Kunming to Singapore. At risk is a 6-kilometre piece of track needed to connect Sisophon in Cambodia to Aranyaprathet in Thailand.
The link is for cross-border cargo transportation in the region and due for completion in 2015. This
area of the line provides the strategic link between all existing railway networks in the region, crucial to the 5,300-kilometre
Singapore-Kunming Rail Link, according to the Asian Development Bank's project summary on the restructuring of the railway in Cambodia.
Earlier this month relations between Thailand and Cambodia were significantly strained when Cambodian
Prime Minister Hun Sen offered the ousted Thai leader Thaksin Shinawatra a home and a job, refusing an extradition request from Bangkok.
The Cambodian section is also an integral part of the Greater Mekong Subregion southern economic
corridor. The Cambodian government is rehabilitating the 48-kilometre section linking Sisophon to Poipet, which is expected to be completed in
2010.
The Singapore-Kunming Rail Link was first proposed at an Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit
in 1995 and was considered the flagship project of ASEAN-Mekong Basin Development Cooperation. The route passes from China's Kunming to
Singapore, connecting through Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Thailand.
Source:
Phnom Penh Post
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NEWS IN BRIEF
Ho Chi Minh City Hosts 16th Annual Film Festival
Held in Ho Chi Minh City from December 8-12, the festival is expected to attract 29 domestic and foreign production companies and
feature 99 films in four categories: feature films, documentaries, scientific films and cartoons.
Source:
VOV
News
New Airport Delayed in Cambodia
The French Embassy has requested the Preah Sihanouk International Airport delay its official opening until next year. The only
airport in the coastal resort city, recently upgraded by airport operator Societe Concessionnaire des Aeroports (SCA), was due to
be opened on Nov 19.
Source: Tourism Cambodia
Bus Service Expanding from Northern Thailand into Vientiane
Bus service from downtown Nakhon Ratchasima to Vientiane will begin later this month, just in time for the 25th SEA Games hosted
by Laos. The 382km journey (approximately 7 hours is expected to cost 380THB.
Source: The Nation
Mekong Arts Festival Takes Flight
200 artists and media practitioners descended on Phnom Penh for the weeklong Mekong Festival beginning on Monday November 30. The
focus of the festival is on advocating arts as catalyst for social transformation. Workshops, performances, forum, conference,
films and visual arts, artists from the Mekong sub-region showcased views of life in an era of globalization and economic
integration.
Source: Chinaview
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Tap New Markets at www.ExploreMekong.org
MTCO's consumer-facing website
www.exploremekong.org will be a key
platform for marketing the Mekong region as a premier tourism destination.
Through www.exploremekong.org the
MTCO offers Mekong-region tourism stakeholders a valuable opportunity to dabble in online distribution for the first time, or
expand upon their existing web-based channels.
Minimum conditions apply for private-sector inclusion in the website's booking engine. Sponsorship and advertising
opportunities are also available.
For more information on the marketing opportunities offered by
www.exploremekong.org, please email
exploremekong@genaresasia.com.
Learn, Share, Engage at www.MekongTourism.org
The MTCO's website at www.mekongtourism.org
is quickly developing into an indispensable resource for anyone interested in tourism development: development partners, NGOs,
students, teachers, policy makers, and the travel trade.
Bookmark www.mekongtourism.org for
convenient access to the proceedings of
MTCO's GMS
workshops and other resources
pertaining to sustainable tourism development, especially the MTCO's priority themes of conservation, poverty alleviation, human
resource development, and tourism corridor enhancement.
To contribute your own tourism development news, opinions, and resources to
www.mekongtourism.org, please email
content@mekongtourism.org.
Go Social with Mekong Tourism
Help MTCO tap into and expand its social media networks: Follow "Explore Mekong" on
Twitter, join our "Mekong Tourism" groups on
Facebook,
LinkedIn and
Plaxo, and help
us represent the GMS on The "Good Tourism" Wiki!
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