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In this issue:
MTCO Talks Development, Marketing
at Ecotourism Event
Sustainable Best Practices
Handbook for SMEs
Vote Mekong for Ecotourism Spotlight
Award
Responsible Travel: Informed Passengers
Will Pay a Carbon Premium
Responsible Tourism: They See a Future
When You Come to Stay
News in Brief
Tap New Markets at www.ExploreMekong.org
Learn, Share, Engage at www.MekongTourism.org
Go Social with Mekong Tourism
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| MTCO Executive Director
Mason Florence addresses the World Ecotourism Conference 2009 |
MTCO Talks
Development, Marketing at Ecotourism Event
MTCO Executive Director Mason Florence was a panelist during the
special session entitled "Development & Marketing of the Greater Mekong Sub-region", July 17, at the World Ecotourism Conference 2009
(WEC2009) in Vientiane. The session provided industry leaders with "a strategic framework to plan for the sub-region and to enable them to
understand and respond to strategic trends and developments".
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H.E. Bouasone Bouphavanh, the Prime Minister of Lao PDR,
chats with Mason Florence at the Mekong Tourism booth in the Green Tourism Exhibition |
Mr Florence outlined some of Mekong
Tourism's plans for the coming year, including a public relations campaign to raise awareness for Mekong as a single destination, the
Mekong Photo Contest, and reviving the Mekong Tourism Forum. Mekong Tourism also took out booth space at the public exhibition that ran in
parallel with WEC2009.
"It was an enjoyable and productive four days," said Mr Florence. "We were able to raise awareness of Mekong Tourism
activities among ecotourism stakeholders who play an important role in showcasing our region's unique natural and cultural assets to
responsible travelers."
WEC2009 brought global ecotourism players together to network, collaborate and share their experiences, best practices, and
technology for the advancement of ecotourism around the world. This year's Conference focused on "developing regions". In the final
session, delegates agreed in principle with a "Vientiane Declaration" that seeks to promote the use of proven ecotourism practices within
the wider travel and tourism industry.
The Lao National Tourism Administration (LNTA), which teamed up with Malaysian event organizer DISCOVERYMICE to stage
WEC2009, planned a series of local events including the Lao International Tourism Exhibition and Food Festival that added value to the
program and attracted public participation on the last day.
WEC2009.
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Sustainable Best Practices Handbook for SMEs
The English PDF version of a full-colour illustrated handbook of good practices for
tourism operators is available for download. 'Sustainable Tourism Management in Thailand: A Good Practices Guide for SMEs' was first published
in 2007 to help hotels, restaurants, and nature and culture-based activity operators in Thailand take easy steps towards sustainable
management.
The handbook comprises tips on how to lower electricity and
water consumption, manage waste in an eco-friendly way, and interact positively with local communities. These tips are illustrated by case
studies of more than 40 SMEs throughout Thailand. The best practices described apply just as well in other destinations. Technical advice and
contacts are also provided.
The handbook was published by the Environmental Research Institute of Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok and Bumi Kita Foundation, with
financial support from the European Union's EU-Thailand Small Project Facility and the French Embassy in Thailand.
Download handbook. (PDF 3.5 MB)
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Vote
Mekong for Ecotourism Spotlight Award
Voting opened yesterday, July 20, for the 2009 Ecotourism Spotlight
Award.
Nominees for this year's award include Quito Visitors' Bureau, Responsible Tourism Guide to the Mekong (this site) Ecotourism
Laos, Failte Ireland and Mexico's National Commission of Natural Protected Areas.
Vote now.
Contenders have made the most of the Web in
2009 to engage locals and visitors. Examples of best practices include Failte Ireland's ecotourism handbook for all 16,000 Irish
tourism businesses and Quito's documentation of eco activities including weekend bike rides. Web 2.0 tools are showcased on the
Mekong site and multi-lingual information is showcased on the Mexico parks website. Two-time Ecotourism Spotlight Award winner
Ecotourism Laos has been revising its site and shows how any good website is regularly updated to maintain its effectiveness.
"In 2009 we have more contenders than ever before," said Planeta.com founder Ron Mader and director of the Ecotourism
Spotlight Award. "The spotlight award shines attention on best practices and these nominees offer great examples for other
government websites."
Government websites that educate visitors about ecotourism and responsible travel options are eligible to win Planeta.com's
third annual Ecotourism Spotlight Award. Complete details are online the Planeta Wiki.
The winner is announced in celebration of World Tourism Day (September 27) as way of spotlighting best practice in responsible
travel and ecotourism. The award was developed to create incentives for communication, opportunities for conversation and a reward
for participation among government leaders working toward ecotourism and responsible travel.
Nominees are asked to review each other's websites. "Connect with each other," advises Mader. "While this is a competition,
we also encourage collaboration. Learning from other leaders makes sense. All of these nominees are winners."
Vote now.
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Responsible Travel: Informed Passengers Will Pay a Carbon Premium
Flight search data reveals 57% of airline travellers are prepared to pay a premium for flights with lower carbon emissions. The
use of the Carbon Friendly Flight Search tool demonstrates that travellers will choose carbon-efficient flight options, with 57% of users
selecting the lowest cost /lowest carbon option, even if it is up to 19% more expensive than the lowest cost/higher carbon option.
The flight search tool developed by Global Travel Market (GTM) and The Carbon Consultancy in association with the
International Centre for Responsible Tourism, provides travellers with ratings on the efficiency of the long and short haul fleets used by
major airlines and highlights lower carbon emitting direct flights vs indirect flights.
The free online tool has been piloted on selected websites, which have generated in excess of 10,000 flight searches and the
results are compared against GTM's normal flight search tools where no carbon ratings or direct flight options are present.
Read more.
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Responsible Tourism: They See a Future When You Come to Stay
Contribute directly to youths' vocational training by enjoying the warmth of their
hospitality at Tonle Guesthouse (pictured). The Tonle Tourism Training Center opened in early 2007 with the backing of Tourism for Help
(Switzerland) and more recently from Tourism for Help (France).
By providing short vocational training courses, the Center
offers disadvantaged youth employable skills for their futures. The Center functions as a guesthouse, restaurant, and training center for
students to practice in a true-to-life environment. They perform as service providers, cooks, clerks and front office staff.
The guesthouse accommodation comprises four rooms equipped with fans in a traditional Khmer house. There is a book shelf
upstairs packed with information about local attractions. A large sitting room and a terrace offering a splendid view of the Sekong River
allow guests to feel at home.
Full entry on the 'Responsible
Tourism Guide to the Mekong'.
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NEWS IN BRIEF
Cambodian Tourism Operators Welcome New Legislation
Tourism service providers in Cambodia have welcomed a new law that aims to develop the tourism sector in a sustainable way,
contributing to poverty reduction and cultural preservation.
Full story.
PLANET'NGO Association Website Dedicated to Helping NGOs
'PLANET'NGO' is offering free membership for one year to the first 500 NGOs to be listed on its website. Membership is usually
EUR30 per year. Visit www.planetngo.org or email
contact@planetngo.org.
TWG-23 Meeting Summary Available Online
A summary of the 23rd Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) Tourism Working Group (TWG) Meeting held June 2, 2009 in Bangkok,
Thailand is now available for download at MekongTourism.org.
Go there.
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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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