Mekong Tourism launches programs to engage and collaborate with the tourism industry in order to work together to promote the Greater Mekong Subregion as a single tourism destination.

1. 1
PATA CHIANG RAI
CHAPTER
-­‐
16 FEBRUARY 2016
CHIANG RAI, THAILAND
WWW.MEKONGTOURISM.ORG
/
SOCIAL
MEDIA:
@TOURISMMEKONG

2. 2

3. ABOUT THE GREATER MEKONG SUB-­‐REGION (GMS)
3

4. Greater Mekong Sub-­‐region (GMS)
• Cambodia
• China
• Guangxi
• Yunnan
• Laos
• Myanmar
• Thailand
• Vietnam

5. 5

6. THE MEKONG TOURISM BRAND
6

9. • Greater Mekong is home to more than
95 different ethnic groups
• Each have distinct customs and
traditions, culture, language and
beliefs
• All reliant on the Mekong River as a
life-source, but interact with the
environment in many different ways

10. Today’s Traveler
§ 38% of all travelers say they would
pay more to use a travel company
that makes efforts to protect the
natural environment
§ The majority would pay between
5% and 10% over existing prices
to such companies
Source: Geotourism Study:
Conducted by TIA and National Geographic Traveler, 2009
Sustainable tourism reflects the
values of today’s travelers:
§ Crave authentic experiences
§ Support travel experiences that are
true to a destination
§ They reward the companies that
protect the environment and
indigenous cultures around the
world
SOURCE:
Na<onal
Geographic

12. 12

13. The
sharing
economy
brings
us
closer
to
local
experiences

17. 17
ExperienMal
Tourism

18. THE EXPERIENCE MEKONG STRATEGY
18

23. Country Coverage in the PotenMal
Routes
Route
CAM
PRC
LAO
MYA
THA
VIE
1.
Mekong
Discovery
Trail
*
*
*
2.
Cruising
the
Mekong
Delta
*
*
3.
Gulf
Coast
&
Islands
*
*
*
4.
East-­‐West
Corridor
*
*
*
5.
Route
8
*
*
*
6.
Middle
Path
of
Lord
Buddha
*
*
7.
Northern
Heritage
Trail
*
*
*
8.
Mekong
Tea
Caravan
Trails
*
*
*
*
9.
Largest
Waterfall
in
Asia
*
*
10.
Hekou-­‐Lao
Cai
*
*
11.
River
Cruising
the
Golden
Triangle
*
*
*
*

31. 31
THEMATIC MARKETING
COMMUNITY-­‐BASED
TOURISM
RIVER-­‐BASED
TOURISM
FOOD
TOURISM
HERITAGE
TOURISM
ADVENTURE
TOURISM

34. 34

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37. EXECUTION
37

38. 38

39. @TourismMekong

40. 40

42.
INDUSTRY ENGAGEMENT INITIATIVES
2 0 1 6
ME KONG TOURISM COORDINATING OFFICE

43. MEKONG
IS
MY
PASSION

44. 2016 Mekong Tourism IniMaMves
1. Official
Mekong
Tourism
Contributor
Program
2. Mekong
Mul<-­‐Country
Journeys
3. Mekong
Tourism
Library
4. Mekong
Tourism
Events
Calendar
5. Experience
Mekong
CollecKon
&
Showcase
6. Mekong
Tourism
Stories
7. #MekongMoments
Social
Media
Campaign
8. Mekong
Tourism
Sector
Strategy
9. Mekong
Tourism
Marke<ng
Workshop
10. MeTAG
Mee<ngs
11. Mekong
Tourism
Forum
12. Media
&
Blogger
Fam
Trips
44
Note:
2016
GMS
TWG
Workplan
contains
30
ini<a<ves

45. Mekong Tourism Strategy
CollaboraMon Programs
MEKONG
TOURISM
STORIES
EXPERIENCE
MEKONG
COLLECTION
MEKONG
TOURISM
CONTRIBUTOR
#MEKONGMOMENTS
CAMPAIGN

46. Mekong Tourism Strategy
CollaboraMon Programs
MEKONG
TOURISM
STORIES
EXPERIENCE
MEKONG
COLLECTION
MEKONG
TOURISM
CONTRIBUTOR
Ø ArKcles
Ø Library
Ø Events
Ø Journeys
#MEKONGMOMENTS
CAMPAIGN

47. Official Mekong Tourism
Contributor Program
u
Engage
passionate
experts
on
the
Mekong
Region
u
Contributors
range
from
bloggers
to
CEOs
u
Contributors
receive
their
own
profile
page
with
links
u
Contributors
are
searchable
by
subject
mader
exper<se
u
Contributors
receive
a
badge
they
can
add
to
their
website
u
Ar<cles
are
credited
and
link
back
to
website
or
source
u
Contribu<ons
can
range
from
ar<cles
to
documents
for
the
library
u
Contributors
are
asked
to
contribute
regularly,
a
minimum
of
one
contribu<on
every
three
months
u
Tour
Operators
can
provide
mul<-­‐country
journeys
in
storytelling
format
47

48. Official Mekong Tourism
Contributor Program
INDIVIDUALS
•
Bloggers
•
Travelers
•
Journalists
•
Consultants
•
Staff
of
companies
•
Execu<ves
•
Small
business
owners
•
Residents
COMPANIES
• Tour
Operators
• Airlines
• Hotels
• Homestays
• Cruise
Lines
• Dev.
Org.
• Travel
Agents
• Media
• Consul<ng

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61. 61

62. Mekong Tourism Strategy
CollaboraMon Programs
MEKONG
TOURISM
STORIES
EXPERIENCE
MEKONG
COLLECTION
MEKONG
TOURISM
CONTRIBUTOR
#MEKONGMOMENTS
CAMPAIGN

64. Experience Mekong CollecMon
64
u
Collect
responsible
travel
experiences
in
the
GMS
u
Experiences
can
range
from
accommoda<on,
adrac<on,
restaurants,
cruises,
and
more.
u
Membership
to
the
“EMC”
is
free
of
charge
u
Applica<ons
will
be
accepted
and
reviewed
by
an
advisory
commidee
u
Best
prac<ces
of
the
EMC
will
be
showcased
and
published
(the
EMC
Showcase
will
be
supported
by
Thammasat
University)
u
It
is
planned
to
develop
a
searchable
website
to
list
EMC
members
u
EMC
members
will
receive
a
badge
their
may
display
on
their
website,
showcasing
being
a
verified
responsible
experience
in
the
GMS
u
EMC
membership
is
to
drive
business
to
businesses,
as
well
as
increasing
confidence
of
tourists
to
travel
to
the
GMS
u
The
chosen
best
prac<ces
selected
by
the
advisory
commidee
will
be
showcased
and
honored
at
the
Mekong
Tourism
Forum

65. Mekong Tourism Strategy
CollaboraMon Programs
MEKONG
TOURISM
STORIES
EXPERIENCE
MEKONG
COLLECTION
MEKONG
TOURISM
CONTRIBUTOR
#MEKONGMOMENTS
CAMPAIGN

66. 66

67. 67

68. Mekong Tourism Stories
68
u
In
partnership
with
UNWTO,
as
part
of
the
“Tourism
Stories”
series
(three
books
have
been
published
–
the
latest
about
people
in
the
Philippines,
impacted
by
the
earthquake)
u
The
books
feature
stories
of
people
working
in
tourism,
and
showing
the
posi<ve
impact
tourism
can
make
in
improving
people’s
lives
and
communi<es.
u
Aligned
to
the
mandate
of
the
Mekong
Tourism
Sector
Strategy,
to
drive
inclusive
growth
and
poverty
allevia<on
in
secondary
des<na<ons
in
the
GMS
u
The
“Mekong”
edi<on
of
the
Tourism
Stories
series
would
feature
4-­‐6
stories
of
people
in
each
of
the
GMS
countries
(total
of
24-­‐36
stories).
Follow-­‐up
edi<ons
are
possible,
as
well
as
a
dedicated
website
to
go
in
more
depth,
and
to
showcase
the
des<na<ons,
and
relevant
experiences.
u
We
are
looking
for
partners
and
sponsors
to
make
this
project
a
reality
to
TELL
THE
STORIES
OF
THE
PEOPLE
LIVING
IN
THE
MEKONG
REGION.

69. Mekong Tourism Strategy
CollaboraMon Programs
MEKONG
TOURISM
STORIES
EXPERIENCE
MEKONG
COLLECTION
MEKONG
TOURISM
CONTRIBUTOR
#MEKONGMOMENTS
CAMPAIGN

70. 70
Travelers and Residents
share their unforgettable moments
in the Greater Mekong Sub-region
MAKE
EXISTING
VISITORS
RAVE
ABOUT
YOU…

71. 71
Launching the
#MekongMoments
Social Media
Photo & Video
Sharing Contest

72. 72
#MEKONGMOMENTS
Capture
glimpses
of
the
people,
places,
and
experiences
that
have
impacted
your
life
from
your
travels
around
the
Mekong
Region
You
have
experienced
your
unforgedable
moments
in
China
(Yunnan
and
Guangxi),
Cambodia,
Myanmar,
Laos,
Thailand,
or
Vietnam
From
April
1
to
May
15,
upload
to
Facebook
or
Instagram
as
many
photos
and
videos
(15
seconds
max))
you
like
by
tagging
#MekongMoments
Have
a
chance
to
win
amazing
experiences
from
our
sponsors,
including
stays
at
remote
eco
lodges,
cruising
down
the
Mekong,
and
much
more.

73. Share Your #MekongMoments
73
u
Social
Media
Campaign
to
allow
visitors
and
residents
to
share
their
#MekongMoments
when
experiencing
the
Mekong
Region
u
Two
categories:
short
15
second
videos
/
photos
u
People
upload
their
moments
to
their
social
media
site
of
choice
(Instagram,
Facebook,
Youtube,
Flickr,
Vine,
etc.),
and
tag
with
#MekongMoments
u
We
will
aggregate
all
tagged
submissions
into
a
page
on
MekongTourism.org,
and
a
judging
panel
will
determine
a
list
of
finalists
u
Public
vo<ng
will
determine
the
winners
u
Finalists
may
display
a
badge
on
their
website
to
encourage
people
to
vote
for
them
u
Partners
will
sponsor
prizes
for
the
winners

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www.MekongTourismForum.org

77. 77

78. Thank you
JENS THRAENHART, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
MEKONG TOURISM COORDINATING OFFICE (MTCO)
TEL: +66 2612 4150 – 1 FAX: +66 2612 4152
EMAIL: JENS@MEKONGTOURISM.ORG
WWW.THRAENHART.COM
78
WWW.MEKONGTOURISM.ORG
/
SOCIAL
MEDIA:
@TOURISMMEKONG