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MEKONG TOURISM ADVISORY GROUP

Expert Group on Food and Agro-Tourism

Objective

The Food and Agro-Tourism Group of MeTAG (Mekong Tourism Advisory Group) supports tourism professionals in the region who are interested in sharing their ideas and best practices in the field of food tourism.

Context

Food tourism is more than just eating local food. It’s a window into understanding local culture. It can take many forms, from market tours to cooking classes; increasingly local authorities and businesses are finding more creative, innovative ways to showcase their local foods and culinary traditions, bringing visitors and locals closer together, including hands-on experiences, preserving living heritage, creating interactive spaces and more.

As many as 80% of travelers consider their food options before they pick a destination. The WTO estimates that one-third of travel budgets is spent on food and travelers who define themselves as food travelers spend 24% more than the average.

Activities

The MeTAG Food and Agro-Tourism Group is looking for members to develop activities in several areas. Among the projects we’d like to explore are:

Support community-based tourism food products

Creating a guide to identifying potential community-based tourism food products.

Creating guidelines

Structuring guidelines for developing CBT food-related products.

Building a brand

Building a destination's brand as a food tourism destination, both local and high-end.

Connect

Designing an online platform that would support food delivery options of interest to tourists.

Telling stories

Creating guidelines for telling the story of food-related tourism products.

The Food and Agro-Tourism Group also invites professionals and other experts from the field to share their knowledge and experience with all members and the general public in online discussion panels on various themes related to food tourism.

Upcoming Events

No Events

Visit the Destination Mekong events calendar _____

Past Events

Chair
Vincent Vichit-Vadakan

Freelance writer for South China Morning Post, Travel+Leisure, Nikkei Asia, among other international publications

Members

Membership is open to all MeTAG members, representatives of governments, the private sector and NGOs committed to child protection (can, but do not need to be experts on the topic); it can be expanded to external experts that are not part of the Mekong Tourism Advisory Group but can contribute to the discussion.

Please contact us to inquire about membership to this group.

Mandate
  • Inform Mekong Tourism Advisory Group (MeTAG) Members about the current and emerging issues through periodic updates and group calls
  • Propose common initiatives, projects and action steps to protect children
  • Seek support and input from other MeTAG Members
Founded
  • June 2021
Inquiries

Objective

The Food and Agro-Tourism Group of MeTAG (Mekong Tourism Advisory Group) supports tourism professionals in the region who are interested in sharing their ideas and best practices in the field of food tourism.

Context

Food tourism is more than just eating local food. It’s a window into understanding local culture. It can take many forms, from market tours to cooking classes; increasingly local authorities and businesses are finding more creative, innovative ways to showcase their local foods and culinary traditions, bringing visitors and locals closer together, including hands-on experiences, preserving living heritage, creating interactive spaces and more.

As many as 80% of travelers consider their food options before they pick a destination. The WTO estimates that one-third of travel budgets is spent on food and travelers who define themselves as food travelers spend 24% more than the average.

Activities

The MeTAG Food and Agro-Tourism Group is looking for members to develop activities in several areas. Among the projects we’d like to explore are:

Support community-based tourism food products

Creating a guide to identifying potential community-based tourism food products.

Creating guidelines

Structuring guidelines for developing CBT food-related products.

Building a brand

Building a destination's brand as a food tourism destination, both local and high-end.

Connect

Designing an online platform that would support food delivery options of interest to tourists.

Telling stories

Creating guidelines for telling the story of food-related tourism products.

The Food and Agro-Tourism Group also invites professionals and other experts from the field to share their knowledge and experience with all members and the general public in online discussion panels on various themes related to food tourism.

Upcoming Events

No Events

Visit the Destination Mekong events calendar _____

Past Events

Chair
Vincent Vichit-Vadakan

Freelance Writer for South China Morning Post, Travel+Leisure, Nikkei Asian...

Vice-Chair
Peter Tay

Chief Executive Officer, iMCT Co Ltd Events

Members

Membership is open to all MeTAG members, representatives of governments, the private sector and NGOs committed to child protection (can, but do not need to be experts on the topic); it can be expanded to external experts that are not part of the Mekong Tourism Advisory Group but can contribute to the discussion.

Please contact us to inquire about membership to this group.

Mandate
  • Inform Mekong Tourism Advisory Group (MeTAG) Members about the current and emerging issues through periodic updates and group calls
  • Propose common initiatives, projects and action steps to protect children
  • Seek support and input from other MeTAG Members
Founded
  • June 2021
Inquiries

How you can support us

Let us know if you would like to partner with the group to promote food and agro tourism in the region or if you have a food tourism-related event of if you would like to join the group.

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