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.
21 June 2022, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Destination Mekong held its first Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 3 June 2022, together with the election of its new Executive Board Members.
Destination Mekong (DM) held its first Annual General Meeting since its incorporation as a full-fledged company in January this year. The AGM took place virtually and was attended by DM full members and guests.
Ms. Catherine Germier-Hamel, CEO of Destination Mekong, introduced DM’s purpose, goals, and structure to the audience, stressing the importance of providing an inclusive framework that enables all kinds of members to participate actively. She also presented recent partnerships between Destination Mekong and other organizations sharing the same values, such as the South-Pacific Tourism Organisation, the Seoul Tourism Organization, and Planeterra, as well as its membership in the Small Islands Developing States Tourism Organizations (SIDS). Mr. Gerrit Kruger, Chief Marketing Officer of Destination Mekong, presented its Charter, which the members adopted without objection.
The 15 candidates for the new Executive Board of Directors were then given the opportunity to introduce themselves before processing the election through an online system. By the DM Charter, full members (Destination Mekong Changemakers) were invited to rank the candidates by order of preference.
As a result, the eight following people are now officially sitting on the new Executive Board:
As a result, the eight following people are now officially sitting on the new Executive Board:
Ms. Duangmala Phommavong, Co-Founder and Partner | EXO Travel Lao
Mr. Fréderic Tambon, Founder & CEO | Society and Fred, Expert in international marketing, tourism industry, and education
Mr. Guido Neil, Director Special Operations | 12Go
Mr. Mark Bibby Jackson, Founder | Travel Begins at 40
Ms. Melita Koulmandas, CEO/Founder | Song Saa Collective
Mr. Nguyen Tuan Linh, Owner | Mr. Linh’s Adventures Travel Company Limited
Dr. Sasithara Pichaichannarong, Rector | College of Tourism, Hospitality, and Sports, Rangsit University, Thailand | RSU Vista Golf Course
Ms. Sophea Sok, Regional Program Manager, Asia-Pacific | Planeterra Foundation
Additionally, Board Members representing the most significant financial contributors to Destination Mekong are:
For Small Luxury Hotels of The World: Mr. Mark Wong, Senior Vice President Asia Pacific
For the World Wildlife Fund (WWF): Mr. Jedsada Taweekan, Regional Illegal Wildlife Trade Program Manager for WWF-Greater Mekong
For Enwoke: Prof. Hailin Zhang, Professor at Guilin Tourism University
For Chameleon Strategies: Mr. Gerrit Kruger, Managing Director
For Sasin School of Management: Dr. Ian Fenwick, Director
Finally, ex-officio Board Members are:
Mr. Willem Niemeijer, outgoing Chairman of the Interim Board of Destination Mekong and CEO of Yanna Ventures;
Ms. Catherine Germier-Hamel, CEO of Destination Mekong;
Dr. Jens Thraenhart, Founder of Destination Mekong.
After completing the elections, several upcoming initiatives and projects were presented, such as publications by the Destination Mekong Working Group on Academia and Education. It was also announced that Destination Mekong would prioritize the execution of the new Mekong Tourism Recovery Communications Plan, starting with the release of the much-expected Mekong Stories book in June.
To become a Destination Mekong Changemaker, please go to:
https://www.destinationmekong.com/membership/ or contact us.
-ENDS
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.
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
Tourism in the Mekong Region is steered collaboratively by a public-private framework between the public and private sectors.
The Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office, which is the secretariat of the Tourism Working Group, and Destination Mekong, which is the destination marketing organization led by private sector partners, are both managing initiatives aligned to the GMS Tourism Strategy to create a sustainable and inclusive environment to support businesses and communities in the Mekong Region and provide benefits for all stakeholders – residents, travelers, and businesses.
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Inbound international tourism sector in Thailand says vaccines are a game-changer that allows for the reopening of the country and for quarantine requirements to be dropped.
Leading international tourism companies in Thailand have launched a campaign to reopen the country’s borders from 1 July 2021.
The #OpenThailandSafely campaign was launched 2 March with the support of over 15 major companies including YAANA Ventures, Minor Group, Asian Trails, Capella Hotels and Resorts, EXO and many others. [The full launch list is here]
The Open Thailand Safely campaign has laid out its arguments in a petition which will underpin a formal request to the Royal Thai Government to respond favourably to the rollout of Covid-19 vaccination programmes underway in Europe, USA and other Thailand tourism source markets.
The petition is open to anyone in Thailand or around the world who would like to see the country reopen.
The campaign argues that 1 July is an appropriate date for five reasons: the majority of citizens in many source markets will have been vaccinated by then; it gives time to Thai medical authorities to vaccinate both front line staff in hospitality settings in Thailand and/or vulnerable citizens around the country; it gives international travellers time to make travel plans and bookings; the date gives time to airlines, hotels, tour operators and others to start marketing and sales and get ready for tourism operations to commence; and it will take Thailand at least a year, and maybe longer, to return to the large numbers of international visitors that it had before the Covid-19 crisis.
To ensure the safe reopening of Thailand, the petition argues that “international tourists can be asked to satisfy any safeguards the Thai Government may require. This may, for example, include showing officially recognised proof of a Covid-19 vaccination from their home country, purchasing health insurance, showing proof of a negative Covid test within 72 hours of departure, and so on.”
#OpenThailandSafely was the initiative of leading Bangkok-based private sector travel companies YAANA Ventures, Minor Group and Asian Trails.
The CEO of YAANA Ventures, Willem Niemeijer [pictured right], said: “The 1 July reopening would be a strategic opportunity for Thailand to show a leadership role among Asian countries and prepare the way for a solid recovery of the Thai economy in 2022.”
In the coming days, the Open Thailand Safely campaign will also send the 1st July request to Thailand Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha, the Minister of Tourism and Sports, Mr Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn, and the Governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, Mr Yuthasak Supasorn.
According to the Bank of Thailand and official sources in Thailand, tourism, pre-Covid, was worth about 2.9 trillion baht (US$96.5 billion). Some 39.7 million international visitors in 2019 helped sustain up to 8.3 million jobs. However, arrivals fell to 6.7 million in 2020 making between two and four million people unemployed.
Meanwhile, destinations such as Seychelles, Maldives, Greece and Sri Lanka have either opened borders already or are in discussions to do so in light of successful Covid vaccine rollouts in their key source markets.
People can sign the petition for Thailand to reopen on 1 July at www.OpenThailandSafely.org.
For more information www.OpenThailandSafely.org.
72 Experience Mekong Collection (EMC) members have been shortlisted to determine the 2021 Experience Mekong Showcases by public vote.
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As the world has seen the almost complete halt of travel due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the DMC community in Thailand has been hard at work formulating and implementing standards that will solidify Thailand and its tourism facilitators as a destination that is safe for travel.
The Thailand Hygiene Plus Initiative (THPI) has been developed by a group of leading Destination Management Companies (DMCs) operating in Thailand’s tourism industry. Their aim is to create a safe and healthy environment for travellers, and get the message out to tour operators and travel agents.
The standards cover six areas: offices, staff, ground teams, meals, vehicles and transportation, sports equipment and facilities. The standards include, but are not limited to, those to be certified by the “Amazing Thailand Safety and Health Administration” (SHA).
A checklist of operational requirements has been developed and an agreement to implement reached by all DMCs who have signed up to the Thailand Hygiene Plus Initiative. These members include Abercrombie & Kent Thailand, Asia Exotica, Asian Trails, Black Rice Travel – A Member of LUXPERIA Collective, Destination Asia (Thailand), EXO Travel Thailand, Go Vacation Thailand, Khiri Travel Thailand, Panorama Destination Thailand, Remote Lands, Smiling Albino, Tour East, and Travel Exclusive Asia Thailand.
Daniel Fraser, Founder and Director of Smiling Albino said: “When COVID hit the industry our collective focus was on the swift and safe return of travel. The implementation a of united standard for future travel, formed through the collaboration of our peers, was natural.”
He added: “Collectively changing for the better, to create a safe and healthy travel experience for each DMC’s travellers shows that we are in this together and stronger as one.”
Khiri Travel CEO Herman Hoven said: “With the Thailand Hygiene Plus initiative, responsible DMCs in Thailand are giving international tour operators tangible proof and meaningful assurances that we are taking extensive and proactive hygiene measures in order to restore confidence while travelling.”
The initiative will implement infection prevention measures to ensure that travellers have an enjoyable experience, knowing that they are in the best of care. Travellers will have greater confidence in Thailand as a safe and healthy travel destination.
About Khiri Travel
Since 1993, Khiri Travel has won awards and earned a reputation as a destination management company dedicated to working with select tour operators to provide quality leisure travel experiences across Asia. With 16 offices in Thailand, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia and Sri Lanka (which has responsibility for the Maldives), Khiri Travel’s entrepreneurial associates craft innovative itineraries that reflect their passion for authentic, local and sustainable experiences. Visit khiri.com
Contact Khiri Travel
Head Office
226/9 Soi Tiwanon 24
Tiwanon Road, Bangkasor
Muang, Nonthaburi 11000 Thailand
Tel: (+66) [0] 2968 6828
travel.trade@khiri.com
http://khiri.com/
The 4th Info-graph of the COVID-19 Travel Situation in the Mekong Region as of July 13, 2020, giving a brief summary of travel restrictions in Cambodia, PR China, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand, and Viet Nam.
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Public Voting open to support small responsible businesses during these challenging times
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