GMS Tourism Recovery Communications Plan

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.

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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

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

FOOD FOR FIGHTERS! #MAKEGOODWASTE PROGRAM

Since the Government imposed a third round of dine-in bans “ lockdown “ with less than 24 hours notice for a period of 30 days, not only left restaurateurs in financial hardship but also, with food inventory that would now go to waste. Motivated by posts made by a number of Chefs and restaurant owners expressing their desperate concerns for the inventory that they would now have to lose or waste, Bangkok Foodies team looked to the Food For Fighters organisation to help for this pressing issue. Bangkok Foodies, in cooperation with Food for Fighters, then came up with the the #MakeGoodWaste Program.

So, how does it work? Bangkok Foodies will begin their support by spreading the word of this project and source/select the restaurant who would like to participate in cooking charity meal boxes and provide those meals for the Food for Fighters Organisation. An organisation which has been responsible for sourcing funding and using those funds to commission chefs, restaurants, cooks and volunteers to cook and  provide over 200,000 meals to those in communities suffering from the COVID-10 outbreak in Thailand. Besides Bangkok communities, they provide meals to Thailand’s field hospitals, medical centers and prisons affected by COVID-19. The positive result is, participating chefs and restaurants may be able to recover some of the costs they would have normally wasted and contribute to feeding and helping these communities in desperate need, at the same time!

How does it work:

Once a restaurant participant is confirmed with the Bangkok Foodies team, they will pass the participant’s information onto the Food For Fighters team, who will coordinate and schedule the 100 meal boxes’ date and shipping times for delivery. The food should be cooked at the participant’s restaurant or whichever kitchen is convenient, on the same day, prior to the delivery. Don’t forget to take photos of your efforts so we can help to share! The Food For Fighters team, with the funding they have raised by donors, will support with a small budget per food box (1 single serve per box) to be determined once contacting the Bangkok Foodies team as it would depend on the budget available at that time.

The Chef or restaurant will cook 100 boxes of a meal of their choice, something affordable, easy and casual to eat, such as rice and chicken or a simple sandwich or pasta. However, the chef and restaurant participants are more than welcome to add their personal tastes and touch to their meals, as it will represent their brand. Participants are free to apply branded stickers or stamps on boxes or paper bags. See here for some of the dishes some of Bangkok celebrity chefs have made for inspiration.

Read the full article at https://www.bangkokfoodies.com/be-part-of-the-makegoodwaste-program-with-food-for-fighters-x-bangkok-foodies/?fbclid=IwAR3WwoHzKp-0sDt-7KRNHwHwtnaTOC3Oc_T8hD5thuBFYX5WgDDFsYNCNRM

Klean Kanteen runs the “Replace Single-Use Plastic” campaign to support and give back to the Thailand Recovery Fund in support of healthcare professionals combating with COVID-19

Replace single-use plastic! Grab yourself one of Klean Kanteen’s vacuum insulated TKWide bottles and give back to Thailand Recovery Fund in support of healthcare professionals combating COVID-19.

Thailand Recovery Fund is a reserve fund for quick response against any unfortunate disasters or other social emergency issues.

The fund will continuously be raised to always be well-prepared to respond quickly to any emergency situations such as flooding, wildfire, or possible recurrence of Covid-19.
 
As a result, your donation to the Thailand Recovery Fund creates quick responses to several issues in the society. We believe that an effective help comes from an immediate response to the issues.
 
 

Digital wristband by Angkor Pass set to welcome visitors to the Kingdom

The Ministry of Tourism is preparing for post-Covid-19 travel with Wonderpass powered by Angkorpass Technology that enables seamless travel planning through a phone app and a wristband.

Minister of Tourism Thong Khon said that having a rehabilitation plan for the tourism sector after the Covid-19 crisis is crucial and transitioning to a digital technology platform will make payments fast and easy for visitors.

The minister will sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the Angkorpass Technology on Thursday.

Cambodia Tourism Federation (CTF) president Chef Luu Meng told Khmer Times yesterday: “We are ready to work with Ministry of Tourism on this digital system.”

“We are private sector businesses ready to manage new technology together,” he said, adding that special attention needs to be given to planning ahead for the future when travel opens up again.

Read the full article at Khmer Times: https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50882359/digital-wristband-by-angkor-pass-set-to-welcome-visitors-to-the-kingdom/

Destination Mekong organized the Experience Mekong Collection Members Meeting on June 17, 2021
On June 17, It was a great and interactive call with our Experience Mekong Collection members organized by Destination Mekong. Happy to see how active and engaged our members getting together, especially in these challenging times.
 
There are many productive discussions among members and how the Experience Mekong Collection program can stimulate and support members to prepare for tourism recovery once the borders reopen.
 
Looking forward to fruitful cooperation and seeing all members in the next calls!