Capitalization Journal

As ASEAN pursues greater regional integration and the development
of a single economic community, advancements in the region’s
aviation industry are essential to boost economic connectivity and
tourism. Half the world’s population live within five hours of ASEAN,
making it a natural transportation hub for visiting the region’s sunny
beaches, accessing growing economic opportunities.

Continue reading

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As ASEAN pursues greater regional integration and the development
of a single economic community, advancements in the region’s
aviation industry are essential to boost economic connectivity and
tourism. Half the world’s population live within five hours of ASEAN,
making it a natural transportation hub for visiting the region’s sunny
beaches, accessing growing economic opportunities.

Continue reading

Sophie Hartman

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Sophie Hartman

Special Advisor (Training)

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What excites you about the Mekong Region?

Opportunities, dynamism, resilience… These three words come to my mind every time I think of this place that I have called home for almost seven years. Over time, people in the Mekong countries have demonstrated their ability to accommodate change and external influences, while not allowing these to utterly transform their societies. Often seen as a force for innovative and effective development, young people represent a sizable portion of the population. They are energetic,  innovative,  and  enthusiastic. If harnessed properly, they can help usher in a brighter future for them and their community. For the past few years, it has been my privilege to work alongside organizations that strives to make this a reality by empowering disadvantaged youth to fulfil their potential and become responsible adults.
Tell us about your Background

Bringing positive change in the lives of the most vulnerable and discovering new cultures have been the two key drivers of my career. I have been working on various capacity building projects targeting the social and economic inclusion of disadvantaged populations, most of them focused on tourism training. Most notably, I supported the launch and implementation of the Lao National Institute of Tourism and Hospitality’s skills training programs. I also have coordinated the Association of Southeast Asian Social Enterprises for Training in Hospitality & Catering, a network that brings together vocational training centers that provide underprivileged youth with a path to employment in the tourism and hospitality industry across Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam. These experiences convinced me of the difference that tourism can make for people if destinations are able to harness its benefits while mitigating its negative effects.
How do you want to make an impact for the region?

I wish to contribute my experience working with education stakeholders in the region to promote tourism as a driver of inclusive growth and sustainability. Over recent decades, the region has made remarkable progress in terms of development. Yet, a significant share of the population is vulnerable to falling back in poverty and still has limited access to education and decent jobs. The tourism sector can become a strong inclusion lever for underserved populations, as long as they are provided with the necessary productive and transversal skills, and sustainable employment opportunities. This requires coordinated efforts across the industry. By being actively involved in Destination Mekong, I want to contribute to enhanced collaboration between educators and employers to create value in the region and reach that goal.

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Destination Mekong Opens the Call for Nominations to its Board of Directors

17 February 2022, Phnom Penh, Cambodia

After commencing operations, Destination Mekong welcomes nominations to its new Executive Board of Directors. 

Destination Mekong, the private-sector-led regional tourism board, aimed at championing the Greater Mekong Subregion as a single sustainable tourism destination, has initiated the process to elect its first Executive Board of Directors. 

During the last meeting of its interim Board of Directors on 3 February 2022, the Executive Team of Destination Mekong announced the timeline and the nomination process for the 2022 elections of its new Board of Directors. The election is a crucial step to establish the private-sector side of the Mekong Tourism Framework consisting of the Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office as Secretariat of the Tourism Ministries of the Greater Mekong Subregion and Destination Mekong, which is initiating and operating programs to build resilience by supporting a sustainable and inclusive tourism industry.

According to the Charter of Destination Mekong, the Executive Board of Directors is composed of eight elected directors as well as additional appointed and ex-officio directors such as the Executive Director of the Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office, the Founder of Destination Mekong, namely Mr. Jens Thraenhart, and up to six representatives of the main financial contributors.

The Board of Directors will play a crucial leadership role in governing and managing the organization while representing the interests of its members and partners. Directors are elected for a two-year term and are eligible for re-election for a total of three (3) terms. Elections to half of the Board will take place alternating every two years.

The call for nominations to the Executive Board is open to full members from now to 19 March 2022 on www.destinationmekong.com/nominations. Self-nominations are welcomed, and any full member is entitled to run for this board election. As an inclusive organization, Destination Mekong seeks diversity, equality, and balance for its Board and asks any tourism professional in the region to actively participate.

During the same period, Destination Mekong will implement its new annual membership program with three main options: Destination Mekong Insiders (free membership), Changemakers(full members), and Future Players (student members). Changemakers are eligible to stand as candidates for the board and cast votes in the election. They have a say at the Annual General Members Meeting on the programs and initiatives of the organization.

Any individual directly or indirectly engaged or interested in tourism and hospitality may apply for membership in Destination Mekong. Destination Mekong membership is for individuals only to ensure that any tourism and hospitality professional can join. Sponsored memberships can be facilitated for individuals who want to participate actively but cannot cover their fees at the moment. Businesses, educational institutions, and other organizations can opt for partnership packages, including multiple individual memberships and other benefits that create tangible value for businesses.

Until 19 March, annual fees for full individual Changemaker memberships will be USD 60.00 instead of the usual US$ 180.00. Future Player memberships are USD 30.00 instead of USD 90.00 per year. Details on the membership benefits can be found on www.destinationmekong.com/membership.

At the Annual General Members’ Meeting, scheduled for 21 April, the new Executive Board of Directors will be elected through an online voting platform to ensure confidentiality.

Destination Mekong was registered in January 2022 as a private limited company in Singapore. As its executive offices will be hosted by the Ministry of Tourism of the Kingdom of Cambodia, Destination Mekong will soon incorporate a local entity in Phnom Penh.

On 4 February, an inaugural meeting was organized between Destination Mekong and the Ministry of Tourism of the Kingdom of Cambodia, led by H.E. Thong Rathasak, Director General of Tourism Development and International Cooperation at the MoT. The meeting was attended by Catherine Germier-Hamel, the CEO of Destination Mekong, DM Chief Development Officer Gavin Bell, and DM Chief Marketing Officer Gerrit Kruger. 

Ms. Germier-Hamel praised this partnership between the MoT and DM as “a unique and exciting collaboration. Destination Mekong should act as an inclusive, value-added solution provider, primarily focused on developing a set of tangible and intangible benefits to its members”, stressing that “especially in the challenging context of the COVID pandemic, it is crucial to acknowledge and encourage leadership, innovation, cooperation, and positive impact, as part of the efforts to inspire and foster a successful, sustainable recovery of the tourism industry, not only in the Mekong region but also at a global level.”

Jens Thraenhart, Founder of DM and CEO of Barbados Tourism Marketing, commented: “I am very happy to see the vision become a reality. I am watching and cheering on from afar. Keep on moving forward, Destination Mekong”. He added, “Destination Mekong can save regional tourism collaboration in The Greater Mekong Subregion, to leverage tourism as a force for good, especially for small enterprises and local communities.”

-ENDS

Photo: OULAILAX NAKHONE/Shutterstock.com

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Jens Uwe Parkitny

Jens with Kayaw - Myanmar - 1

Jens Uwe Parkitny

Special Advisor (Strategy)

CEO at Oway Group (Myanmar)

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What excites you about the Mekong Region?

While working as a travel writer, I visited many countries around the world and was always fascinated by the diversity of people and their different traditions. In December 1999, on a private trip to Myanmar, I underwent a transformation though. I am not sure what triggered it: The light, the people, the slow pace of life or the spiritual mood that surrounded me as I moved among a 1,000-year-old Buddhist temples and shrines. The landscapes I saw through my eyes somehow seem to reflect my inner landscape. Since then, I came back and crisscrossed the region by foot, by boat, by plane, by car and on bicycle. The adventures and experiences I had along the way have all been extraordinary – sometimes sad, sometimes funny, but always fulfilling for the people I encountered and myself. Therefore, I decided to make the Mekong region my home.
Tell us about your Background

I worked in the travel industry for almost three decades, initially as a travel trade journalist, specializing in sustainable tourism, and later in executive positions, doing business development for global players such as Microsoft, Expedia, and Accor Asia Pacific, with career stations in Germany, Hong Kong, and Singapore. My wife is from Myanmar and together we decided to move to Myanmar and build “Loikaw Lodge by the Lake”, a small, upscale Boutique Hotel in remote Kayah State. That was back in 2015. Shortly after opening our Lodge, The CultureTrip.com recommended the Lodge as one of the ten “Best Hotels to stay at in Myanmar”. The Lodge is also featured in the “Experience Mekong Collection” that showcases “innovative, responsible travel experiences and businesses in the Greater Mekong Subregion, based on unique best practices and successful implementation and execution of innovations in responsible tourism development”. In my spare time I love to explore, mingle with local people and take portraits of the different ethnics that make Myanmar and the Mekong region so diverse and unique as a destination.
How do you want to make an impact for the region?

I strongly believe in tourism as a catalyst for economic and social development and change, if developed in a way that local communities and stakeholders benefit from it. When we built Loikaw Lodge, my wife and I were fully aware that it is challenging and risk inherent to develop even a small-scale project in Kayah State in Myanmar as that particular region was ravaged by conflict for so long, however, we went ahead to realize our vision: a small but charming lodge that could serve as a role model for similar small hotel projects, not only for Kayah State but the wider region. After all, the majority of visitors to the Mekong region are looking exactly for this: small, comfortable boutique hotels that reflect local architecture and craftmanship as well as respect tradition, fit nicely into the landscape, provide an authentic experience and a apply sustainable principles from the onset. Having realized our Lodge project from vision to implementation, allows me to apply a stakeholder perspective. At the same time, I have worked for large corporations that required a lot of strategic thinking from me. It is these different perspectives that I apply when advising Destination Mekong so it can formulate an impactful strategy.

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Gavin Bell

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Gavin Bell

Chief Development Officer

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What excites you about the Mekong Region?

After working in many other regions, coming to Cambodia in 2018 with a few weeks’ notice was my first time in the Mekong Region. In Cambodia I was quickly enamored with the genuine warmth of the Khmer people. After wider travels I discovered a great diversity of culture and nature but linked with elements of shared heritage. The Great Mekong is a spirit that ties it all together. The region quickly pushes those that cannot connect away – but absorbs those that connect. I think I am rapidly falling into the latter group.
Tell us about your Background

I have nearly 30 years of working in responsible tourism, protected areas, and sustainable rural development. This started from the grassroots as a Ranger in UK National Parks to now supporting governments and international organizations. Since leaving the UK in 2006, a major focus of my activities has been in the transition countries of South-Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Caucasus I have worked with and on projects supported by a diverse range of international organizations including the UNWTO, UNDP, EU, KfW, ADB, WWF, and the World Bank as well as directly for government agencies and national NGOs. Since 2018 I have been Team Leader/International Resident Expert for the AFD funded Tourism Commercial Capacity Building Programme of the Ministry of Tourism of the Royal Government of Cambodia, and from March 2022, as well as my Destination Mekong role will be supporting the EU with work on an Inclusive Tourism Recovery Plan for Vietnam.
How do you want to make an impact for the region?

Through my role with Destination Mekong, and the other roles that will support it, I hope I can strengthen opportunities to build a positive network of those committed to sustainable tourism. Spending the Covid years in Cambodia showed the real importance of the tourist economy and the impact the full stop had across the value chain. I want to see the day when every tuk tuk is busy, guides are able to select their customers and the governments value their natural heritage for the long-term wealth it can bring.

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Jens Thraenhart

JensThraenhart

Jens Thraenhart

Founder

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“As the role of Destination Marketing and Management Organizations evolves, so must its business model. The public and private sectors must collaborate. Together, these two forces can achieve greatness. This is especially vital preparing for a sustainable and balanced tourism recovery.”

Jens Thraenhart
What excites you about the Mekong Region?

I have traveled to virtually every corner in the Mekong Region, and have seen little villages with ancient rituals to bustling cities, tasted some amazing (some very interesting) food and drinks, was stunned by incredible world heritage sites and natural wonders, and connected with the most amazing people on this planet that opened their hears to welcome me into their homes.  The countries of the Greater Mekong Subregion (Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand, Viet Nam, and the provinces of Guangxi and Yunnan in PR China) have always fascinated me. It is such a beautiful and stunning region, rich in culture, heritage, and environmental assets – to be able to assist in promoting and developing tourism in these countries was a tremendous honour, to get the trust from the six governments. On the other hand, it was an exciting challenge to create a platform for stakeholder engagement and collaboration. I also saw this role as a unique opportunity to build a new model when it comes to sustainable destination management. 
Tell us about your Background

My entrepreneurial edge was sharpened, while studying medicine and working in a psychiatric hospital in Germany, when starting a unique food catering business, after buying a crepe maker in France, and offering crepes to parties in hospitals and street fairs, before crepes became popular in Germany. I went on to study hotel management in Switzerland, graduating with an MBA from Cornell University, and currently completing my doctorate thesis from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

When I was 24 years old, I was a General Manager of an 80-room golf resort in Germany, and I went on to work for luxury hotel companies from Kempinski Hotels & Resorts, Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, and Dusit Hotels & Resorts, before moving into tourism. My first step into government was working for the Canadian Tourism Commission (now Destination Canada) as head of Marketing Strategy. Digital & CRM, after being  appointed as Executive Director of the Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office by the six member countries.

Always having  been fascinated by Asia, I move to Beijing for 5 years and co-founded pioneering marketing and travel technology firm Dragon Trail in 2008, as well published the China Travel Trends books and online magazine, while being Chair for PATA China (Pacific Asia Travel Association). After almost 8 years heading the Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office, I have recently left Bangkok for the Caribbean, having been appointed as the Chief Executive Officer of the National Tourism Board of the Republic of Barbados. I am humbled to have been recognized as, Top 100 Rising Stars in Travel (2003),  Top 25 Extraordinary Minds in Travel and Tourism (204), Top 20 Brilliant Minds in European Hospitality (2014), and Global Tourism Hero (2021). 
How do you want to make an impact for the region?

I will always feel connected to this amazing part of the world and its people, but I will probably answer this question more on how I believe I have made an impact for the region over the past 10+years:  I realized early as Executive Director of The Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office  that in order to make regional tourism collaboration in the Greater Mekong work, it can only work in cooperation with the private sector. Due to the mistrust by the industry of government, it was vital to develop a private-sector led regional tourism board, which can work independently but in alignment with the public sector-owned regional tourism cooperation.  

I created the concept of Destination Mekong and formed the Mekong Tourism Advisory Group (MeTAG), established thematic community-driven tourism niche expert groups from the bottom-up, and put in place a sound governance structure to operate the private-sector-led regional tourism board in a transparent way, hosted by the Ministry of Tourism of Cambodia as a GMS member government.  With the private sector contributing to programs, initiatives, and campaigns to collaboratively promote and develop the region in an inclusive and sustainable fashion, supported by the policy framework of the six governments, the travel and tourism industry overall will increase resilience and competitiveness.

Personally, this was my greatest achievement, and the most valuable contribution to travel and tourism for the Mekong Region.

Please find out more by reading my interview with Sustainability Leaders:
https://sustainability-leaders.com/jens-thraenhart-interview/

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Destination Mekong aligns with other tourism leaders to sign the Glasgow Declaration on climate action in tourism

18 November 2021, Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Destination Mekong became a proud signatory of the Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism at the COP26.

As part of its efforts to play a leadership role in the global tourism community, Destination Mekong became a signatory and launch partner of the Glasgow Declaration on climate Action in Tourism, which was launched on 4 November 2021 during the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26).

Founded in 2017, Destination Mekong (DM) is the regional tourism organization dedicated to championing the Mekong region, comprising Cambodia, PR China (Provinces of Guangxi and Yunnan), Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand, and Viet Nam, as a sustainable and inclusive tourism destination.  

The Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism unites travel and tourism behind a common set of pathways for climate action, aligning the sector with global commitments and catalyzing collaborative solutions to the many challenges facing businesses and destinations globally.

The Glasgow Declaration encourages the acceleration of climate action in tourism by securing commitments to reduce emissions in tourism by at least 50% over the next decade and achieve Net Zero as soon as possible before 2050.

As a signatory of the Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism, Destination Mekong has committed to aligning its actions with the latest scientific recommendations to ensure its approach remains consistent with a rise of no more than 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels by 2100. It also has agreed to deliver or update climate action plans within 12 months, align programs with the five pathways of the Declaration (Measure, Decarbonise, Regenerate, Collaborate, Finance), report publicly on an annual basis, and work in a collaborative spirit, sharing good practices and solutions, and disseminating information.

 “More than ever, the global tourism industry has a unique opportunity to demonstrate its transformative power through inspiring and driving climate action. It’s not only an emergency but also a matter of human dignity.” Catherine GERMIER-HAMEL, CEO, Destination Mekong

The Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism brings together the latest research and global expertise to galvanize climate action. It will be hosted within the One Planet Sustainable Tourism Programme’s website, supported by Recommended Actions for tourism stakeholders across the world to consider as part of their action planning, alongside other resources. As the declaration states: “A just transition to Net Zero before 2050 will only be possible if tourism’s recovery accelerates the adoption of sustainable consumption and production, and redefines our future success to consider not only economic value but rather the regeneration of ecosystems, biodiversity, and communities.”

The need for a globally consistent approach for climate action in tourism has been made clear, notably through research into CO2 emissions carried out by UNWTO/ITF and released at the UNFCCC COP25 in December 2019. This showed that transport-related emissions from tourism were forecast to increase by 25% by 2030 from 2016 levels, against the current ambition scenario.

As the global tourism industry is slowly getting back on track, Destination Mekong (DM) has recently appointed a new Executive Team composed of Catherine Germier-Hamel as CEO, Gerrit Kruger as Chief Marketing Officer, Gavin Bell as Chief Development Officer, and Jens Uwe Parkitny as a strategic advisor, in an honorary capacity, effective 1 November.

This ‘dream team’ was formed by Jens Thraenhart, Founder of Destination Mekong and former Executive Director of the Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office (MTCO), before starting a new career as CEO of Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc.

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