Tourism guru detained in Myanmar

Myanmar’s military junta arrested prominent travel executive and champion of responsible tourism, Myo Min Daw, in the early hours of 23 September.

Reports suggest he was charged under the penal code section 505a that restricts freedom of speech and participation in democracy demonstrations. Reliable sources fear he may have been initially taken to a notorious detention centre where detainees suffer abuse and torture. It is now very likely he is in custody at Yangon’s Insein prison, equally notorious for its inhumane conditions, abuse of inmates and mental and physical torture.

Details are sketchy as both Myo Min Zaw’s Facebook and Twitter accounts closed or were deactivated after he was arrested at his Yangon residence in the presence of his wife and son. 

Reliable sources that keep a check on the situation in Myanmar noted the official news media focuses on the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism’s bold assertions that it will reopen tourist destinations to kick start economic recovery. At the same time, the military regime blames all the country’s ills on the Covid-19 pandemic. But the reality on the ground differs dramatically as the military regime is carrying out arrests and putting tourism entrepreneurs behind bars.

One brave comment* questioned the military regime’s pledge to support inclusive development, saying it was a message for just a “certain group only… while thousands of small tourism businesses struggle to stay afloat. We are facing two storms in Myanmar – Covid and the Coup, the latter being a much bigger one. We have to ask if you can’t provide safety for your own people (including travel industry people), how can you ensure the safety of international visitors.”

Tourism executives, mostly supporters of the Mekong region’s responsible tourism projects in Cambodia, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam, expressed their grave concern over the safety of travel industry executives and staff detained in Myanmar and called for their immediate release. It is understood they are privately contacting top officials in Myanmar’s tourism ministry to ask for more information and assurances on Myo Min Zaw’s safety and welfare as he awaits trial and sentencing in Insein prison.

Independent organisations estimate that more than 8,000 citizens have been detained since the 1 February military coup with more than 1,000 fatalities, mostly victims of military regime attacks on unarmed civilians who were demonstrating for the return of democracy.

Myo Min Zaw is the founder of Inle Canoe Lady and Bagan’s Goat-Keeping Tours, both award-winning innovative travel experiences.

His Inle Lake venture launched in 2017 supports a community of women residents who offer canoe trips through the lake’s Pauk Par village. He called them “Inle Lake’s Gondolas.”

The Inle travel experience features in the Experience Mekong Collection that supports SMEs in the Mekong Region under the auspice of the Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office*. It is among 10 tourism projects in Myanmar that the Mekong Region’s MTCO and its marketing arm, Destination Mekong, showcase for their responsible tourism content.

Myo Min Zaw’s career in tourism spans 20 years, starting as a professional English and Italian speaking tour guide. He later established responsible tourism projects and most recently, he founded the non-government organisation ‘Tourism for All, Myanmar’ community. It supports the creation of essential services in Myanmar’s tourism, such as donating rubbish bins, first-aid kits, community toilets, educational tools and a recycled paper bag campaign.

In early December 2018, his Inle Lake project won the prize for Best Tourism Product for Empowerment at the Myanmar Responsible Tourism Awards presented by the Myanmar Responsible Tourism Institute.

He also participated as a panellist and workshop facilitator at NCCT (National Conference on Community and Tourism) 2019 on responsible tourism and received the Green Microphone Award from Slovenia 2019 (UNWTO affiliated).

*Comments are not attributed as they were given under the strictest conditions of anonymity.

**The Greater Mekong Subregion’s MTCO is funded by the tourism ministries of Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam and is supported by the Asian Development Bank.

Source: https://www.ttrweekly.com/site/2021/09/tourism-guru-detained-in-myanmar/

Destination Mekong organized the DESTINATION MEKONG FOOD & AGRO-TOURISM EXPERT GROUP WEBINAR ON SEPTEMBER 21, 2021
Great discussion with amazing panellists on Destination Mekong Food & Agro-Tourism Expert Group webinar today (September 21, 2021) on the theme “An Appetite for Travel – The Crucial Role of Food Tourism in the Recovery of The Tourism Industry” organised by Destination Mekong and moderated by Vincent Vichit-Vadakan, the chair of Food & Agro-Tourism group.
 
Very insightful aspects on food tourism in different views from the speakers from innovations to food as a key driver for tourism recovery in the Mekong Region.
 
For anyone who missed the event today, the recording is available at https://bit.ly/2VWmIjw.

MeTAG Wildlife Tourism & Conservation Promotional Event on August 30, 2021
Thank you to the MeTAG Wildlife Tourism & Conservation Expert Group for such great and valuable efforts putting together the webinar promoting the best practices and ethical, conservation-minded wildlife tourism in GMS organized by Destination Mekong
 
It was a productive session having our 2021 Experience Mekong Showcases Finalists Wildlife Alliance, ອຸທິຍານແຫ່ງຊາດນໍ້າແອດ-ພູເລີຍ Nam Et-Phou Louey National Park as well as GTAEF Helping Elephants, our Experience Mekong Collection member joined and presented their inspiring stories.
 
For anyone who missed the session, the recording is available here https://youtu.be/2BJOK73iqzw
 
Please also cast your vote for the 2021 Experience Mekong Showcases if you haven’t done so. Today is the last chance to support small responsible businesses in the Mekong Region.
 

Watch a recording of the event here:

Destination Mekong – Responsible and Safe Forms of Voluntourism webinar on August 24, 2021

On August 24, Destination Mekong and EPACT International, together with Child Protection Expert Group, co-organized the Destination Mekong – Responsible and Safe Forms of Voluntourism.

It was a very successful event with almost 200 participants to learn how voluntourism plays an important role in sustainable, responsible travel and tourism development in the region.

Thank you very much for such great support from ក្រសួងទេសចរណ៍ Ministry of Tourism, Cambodia and Ministry of Information, Culture, and Tourism, Lao PDR to join the panel discussion and share the valuable insights from best practices implemented in the countries.
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We also would like to thank all the great effort from our MeTAG Child Protection and Education Expert Group to organize and invite Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office to join the webinar.

Centara backs startup competition

Centara Hotels & Resorts and True Digital Park, Southeast Asia’s largest startup and tech entrepreneur campus, join hands to deliver a competition and incubator programme. 

The ‘Centrara Startup Sandbox’ competition and a three-month incubator programme support startups and entrepreneurs with co-working space, facilities, mentorship and funding.

The Startup Sandbox project, held in collaboration with True Digital Park, will see teams compete for a chance to join the three-month programme, during which executives from Centara will provide regular consultation sessions and be the judge for the teams’ final pitch.

“The world of hospitality is always evolving, and we are proud to be a part of this competition to encourage fresh ideas which will drive innovation in our industry. We are delighted to partner with True Digital Park to support promising startup businesses in Thailand and to mentor the next generation of innovative thinkers,” said Centara Hotels & Resorts chief executive officer Thirayuth Chirathivat.

“True Digital Park continue to build a complete ecosystem for startup and tech entrepreneurs to support the digital transformation and is proud to partner with Centara Hotels and Resorts. This startup sandbox program will strengthen our commitment to nurture tech talents and further accelerate innovative solutions,”  commented True Digital Park general manager Dr Tarit Nimmanwudipong.

Competing teams for the ‘Centara Startup Sandbox’ have to deal with a challenge: “How might we help clients experience their preferred destination or any hospitality offering while still providing them with more exclusive and memorable services”.

The winning team will receive THB100,000 and free use of co-working space at True Digital Park for six months. The first and second runners-up will each receive free use of co-working space at True Digital Park for three months.

Winning teams will also receive hotel vouchers from Centara.

1st Prize: Centara Reserve Samui, two nights in Deluxe Ocean room with breakfast for two persons, value THB23,775 per prize times three prizes per team

2nd Prize: Centara Grand Beach Resort Phuket, two nights in Deluxe room with breakfast for two persons, value  THB12,947 per prize times three prizes per team

3rd Prize: COSI Pattaya Wong Amat Beach, two nights in COSI Plus room with daily credit for two persons value THB3,295 per prize times three prizes per team

Teams with at least three members of any nationality 18 years old and above who have a business idea for the hotel and hospitality industry can apply now until 6 September 2021 at truedigitalpark.typeform.com.

For more information, visit https://www.truedigitalpark.com/en/startup-support/centara-startup-sandbox

Source: TTR Weekly

Destination Mekong arranged the monthly MeTAG Education & Research Group meeting on August 2, 2021
On August 2, there was a productive monthly meeting of the MeTAG Education & Research Group organized by Destination Mekong and facilitated by the Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office discussing some upcoming projects and synergies between the other Expert Groups to create potentials tourism recovery projects.
 
The group has also recently launched the survey. To all tourism and hospitality business owners and executives, please support the MeTAG Education and Research Expert Group by completing this survey via this link https://bit.ly/MeTag-edu.
 
This project aims to launch a consultation on the industry’s emerging needs regarding human capital and opportunities for enhanced collaboration between businesses and education stakeholders.
 
The survey will be available until 31. August 2021.
 
For more details about Education & Research Group, please visit https://www.destinationmekong.com/expert-group/education-research/

Finalists for the 2021 Experience Mekong Showcases announced

PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE DISTRIBUTION

Finalists for the 2021 Experience Mekong Showcases announced
Public Voting is open to support small responsible businesses during these challenging times

Bangkok, July 27th, 2021:  The Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office is announcing the 15 Finalists of the Experience Mekong Showcases 2021 from Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand Viet Nam, as well as Guangxi and Yunnan in PR China.  Finalists from Myanmar this year will be judged differently via an industry panel made up of relevant Mekong Tourism Advisory Group members.  Three thousand eligible votes determined three Experience Mekong Collection members from each of the five participating countries this year for the next round of voting for this prestigious recognition. Now open for a public vote until August 31st, the six Experience Mekong Showcases will be announced at the 2021 Destination Mekong Summit later on this year. To cast your vote, please visit https://www.destinationmekong.com/experience-mekong-showcases2021-voting/

The 15 finalists – 3 from each of 5 member countries of the Mekong Region are:

Note: Myanmar businesses will be judged separately by an expert panel made up of members of the Mekong Tourism Advisory Group (MeTAG).

The Experience Mekong Collection was created four years ago to recognize and encourage sustainable and responsible tourism development in the Greater Mekong Subregion.  

To be appointed as a member of the Experience Mekong Collection, all small travel businesses in the Mekong Region need to fulfill the following requirements:

  1. Make a significant social impact on its community
  2. Provide an authentically local experience positioning the GMS as a responsible, inclusive, and experiential tourism destination.
  3. Have an innovative concept and sustainable business model.

Members of the Mekong Tourism Advisory Group (MeTAG) selected the 60 shortlisted Experience Mekong Collection (EMC) member businesses – twelve from five member countries of the Greater Mekong Subregion from the 300+ members of the Experience Mekong Collection.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the currently active businesses – defined as businesses in communication with us, which is a requirement to be included in the Experience Mekong Showcases program – are currently at nearly 150 businesses.

“Alliances like the Experience Mekong Collection are more important than ever, especially in crises such as during the COVID-19 pandemic, to strengthen resilience both at the destination level, as well as for the individual businesses themselves, via sharing of best practices, networking, cross-promotional activities, and creating operational efficiencies”, says Mr. Jens Thraenhart, outgoing Executive Director of the Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office, and initiator of the Experience Mekong Collection, operated as part of the private-sector-led regional tourism board Destination Mekong. “I am convinced that the Experience Mekong Collection will help accelerate tourism recovery in the region, as well as protect and conserve these locally authentic experiences, which are the treasure trove of the Mekong region.”

“In recognizing the most innovative best practice businesses as the Experience Mekong Showcases, this sets several benchmarks to further improve travel experiences in the Greater Mekong Subregion. As consumer trends and travel behaviors are changing due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we hope this inspires other operators of any size to become involved in responsible and inclusive tourism,” said Mr. Willem Niemeijer, Founder & CEO of Yaana Ventures and current interim Chairman of Destination Mekong.

The 2018 Experience Mekong Collection Showcases included Phare Cambodian Circus (Cambodia), Longji Rice Terraces Guangxi (PR China), Ock Pop Tok (Lao PDR), Inle Heritage Place (Myanmar), Local Alike (Thailand), and Koto (Viet Nam). The 2019 Experience Mekong Collection Showcases included Soksabike (Cambodia), Linden Centre (PR China), Elephant Conservation Centre (Lao PDR), Hla Day (Myanmar), Sampran Riverside (Thailand), and Streets International (Viet Nam). The 2020 Experience Mekong Collection showcase include the Elephant Valley Project (Cambodia), Yangshuo Mountain Retreat (PR China), Laos Buffalo Dairy (Lao PDR), Living Irravaddy Dolphin Project (Myanmar), The Family Tree (Thailand), and Journey of the Senses (Viet Nam). Please see: https://www.destinationmekong.com/initiatives/experience-mekong-showcases/

All members of the Experience Mekong Collection get exposure via Mekong Tourism and Destination Mekong, including MekongTourism.org, DestinationMekong.com, ExperienceMekong.com, and the dedicated Experience Mekong Collection Facebook and Instagram accounts. Experience Mekong Collection members also have priority access to marketing campaigns and have their own dedicated online member-only community to connect with each other.

To help struggling members of the Experience Mekong Collection survive these challenging times during the COVID-19 pandemic, a support page has been created at https://www.destinationmekong.com/projects/support-experience-mekong-collection-members/ to list businesses asking for donations or selling gift certificates. Please support these small businesses by visiting: For more information about the Experience Mekong Collection and its members, please visit www.experiencemekongcollection.com.

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Support us by publishing the voting banner:

Link to: https://www.destinationmekong.com/experience-mekong-showcases2021-voting/

 

About the Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office:

The Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office (MTCO), located in Bangkok, and hosted by the Ministry of Tourism and Sports of Thailand, was set up with funding from the governments of the six Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) countries – Cambodia, the People’s Republic of China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Viet Nam. The MTCO, which operates on annual financial contributions from each GMS country, acts as the secretariat for the GMS Tourism Working Group, comprising of senior officials of the six GMS countries’ National Tourism Organizations, to coordinate and facilitate sustainable tourism development of the GMS, and promotion of the Mekong region as a single travel and tourism destination, in collaboration with the public and private sectors. The MTCO manages its award-winning MekongTourism.org digital platform as a one-stop platform to promote responsible and sustainable tourism in the region, as well as the annual Mekong Tourism Forum, whose hosting is rotated among GMS countries.

Please visit www.MekongTourism.org for more information.

 

About Destination Mekong:

Destination Mekong, located in Phnom Penh, and hosted by the Ministry of Tourism of Cambodia, to promote the Lancang-Mekong region, comprising of Cambodia, PR China (Provinces of Guangxi and Yunnan), Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand and Viet Nam as a single tourism destination to stimulate responsible and sustainable development and investment, and drive inclusive growth. Aligned to the mandate of the Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office, the tourism secretariat of the six-member governments of the Greater Mekong Sub-region, Destination Mekong executes targeted projects and initiatives, including Mekong Moments, Mekong Mini Movie Festival, Mekong Innovations in Sustainable Tourism (MIST), Experience Mekong Collection, Mekong Heroes, and Mekong Trends, the Destination Mekong Summit, with feedback from the Mekong Tourism Advisory Group (MeTAG).  

More information at: www.DestinationMekong.com

Destination Mekong organized MeTAG Food Expert Group meeting on July 20, 2021

On July 20, 2021, it was another good milestone from our MeTAG Food Expert Group during the call facilitated by Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office and organized by Destination Mekong discussing the upcoming projects and how food tourism can contribute and be part of the tourism recovery region.
 
Some good ideas and thoughts were raised to drive resilience as well.

New world, new roles of engagement

With every crisis comes change, and many predict that the reboot of sorts for the world and the travel industry would swing the pendulum towards a more eco-friendly and sustainable form of tourism.

Hoping for a real mindset and behaviour change in the travel industry is Hamish Keith, CEO at Exo Travel.

“We hope that one of the silver linings of this very dark storm that is still raging around us is that people will think more carefully about how they travel and who they travel with. We know that there is an inevitability to people traveling more responsibly and more carefully and we also know it takes time before habits change,” said Keith.

Anthony Lim, president at Asia at The Travel Corporation (TTC), which operates a family of brands including Trafalgar, Insight Vacations and Luxury Gold, believes demand for sustainable travel experiences will grow.

“As the world begins to recover and travel was on pause for the past year, clients are now more mindful in travelling responsibly and will be inspired in making a positive impact in the destinations and local communities they visit,” he remarked.

“Also, they will be choosing more consciously a preferred travel company which has established sustainable travel guidelines and initiatives.”

Like most businesses, TTC has used the downtime as take stock of its environmental footprint and establish road maps for a greener future, reinforcing the company’s stand to stay the course with the development of its new five-year sustainability strategy, How We Tread Right, covering issues such as climate change, food waste, diversity and inclusion, and animal welfare.

“If there was a silver lining, the global pandemic has enabled us to very much focus on the implementation of our strategy,” said Lim.

It’s a similar story for another sustainability-focused company, Abercrombie & Kent, with regional managing director, Southeast Asia, Belinda Shillcock, saying: “During this period, we have focused on product development and how we can provide the most sustainable and memorable travel experiences.

“When the world is ready to reopen safely once again, Abercrombie & Kent Southeast Asia is ready to offer our guests sustainable, slow travel experiences throughout the region — staying longer, travelling deeper and ensuring lasting and more meaningful engagements with the people and places that we visit.”

But true sustainability in tourism goes beyond environmental protection, these industry veterans pointed out.

It’s also about “fair income distribution, protecting the sense of place and operating responsibly whilst giving back to the communities we visit”, said Shillcock.

As well, the pandemic has inevitably popularised the use of single-use plastics again, an area these tour companies are keen to reduce when travel reopens.

Exo, for example, will continue to promote reusable water bottles, provide reusable masks and support local projects to provide sanitisers made with sustainable materials.

“While Covid has massively impacted our business, disrupted our industry and will no doubt change the way people travel, we see sustainability as a long-term mission that transcends this crisis,” concluded Keith.

Read the full article at Travel Weekly Asia: https://www.travelweekly-asia.com/Travel-News/Responsible-Tourism/New-world-new-roles-of-engagement?fbclid=IwAR2mzW3ie_obUk222o5-bj19hykC6incpbahEe-6chrJySdM3VOyB4tj9JA