Destination Mekong proudly announces the members of its first Executive Board

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

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Destination Mekong Announces 16 Candidates for its Executive Board Elections

19 May 2022, Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Destination Mekong has launched its campaign to elect its first Executive Board as part of its journey toward building a unified and resilient tourism industry in the Greater Mekong Subregion.

Since the incorporation of Destination Mekong as a full-fledged company in January 2022, its Executive Team has worked hard on consolidating the organization, driving membership, building partnerships, and exploring funding opportunities.

As a continuation, Destination Mekong has now launched the campaign to elect its new Executive Board during its first Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 03 June 2022. The AGM will be held in a hybrid format and open to members, representatives of partners, and non-members. It will include the confirmation of the DM Charter and the election of a new Executive Board by voting members (Changemakers), with eight seats available in the first year.

The list of candidates for the Executive Board is composed of 16 professionals with impressive backgrounds in travel, tourism, and hospitality in Asia, highly committed to sustainable development and local community empowerment in the Mekong region: 

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. Hailin Zhang, Professor at Guilin Tourism University

Mr. Jacques Guichandut, Managing Director | All Dreams Cambodia Co. Ltd.

Mr. Jean Claude Dhuez, Owner | Sâmata

Mr. Mark Bibby Jackson, Founder | Travel Begins at 40

Ms. Melita Koulmandas, CEO/Founder | Song Saa Collective

Mr. Miquel Angel Perez Martorell, Founder | MQL Sustainable Tourism Services

Dr. Neal F. Bermas, Founder | STREETS International

Mr. Nguyen Tuan Linh, Owner | Mr. Linh’s Adventures Travel Company Limited

Mr. Nick Ray, Principal at Hanuman Films. Lonely Planet Writer for Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. Tourism Consultant with the World Bank

Dr. Sasithara Pichaichannarong, Rector | College of Tourism, Hospitality, and Sports; Chairperson | RSU Vista Golf Course, Thailand

Mr. Sean Too, Chief Eco Consultant | Sentinel Solution Thailand Co Ltd

Ms. Sophea Sok, Regional Program Manager, Asia-Pacific | Planeterra Foundation

Dr. Soriya Yin, Associate Professor, Environmental Science | American University of Phnom Penh

The profiles of candidates can be consulted here: https://www.destinationmekong.com/executive-board-election.

Besides the elected members, the DM Executive Board will also include Dr. Jens Thraenhart, as the founder of Destination Mekong, Mr. Willem Niemeijer, in his role as past Chair of the Interim Board of Directors, and representatives of the largest private-sector supporters of Destination Mekong, including a permanent seat for its founding contributor UNWTO Affiliate Member Chameleon Strategies.

Catherine Germier-Hamel, CEO of Destination Mekong, stressed that “these are challenging yet exciting times for Destination Mekong and its growing community of members, partners, and supporters. To create impact and value for all, we will not only need coordination, cooperation, and innovation but also motivation, dedication, and compassion. The candidates to our Executive Board all have these qualities, together with being true changemakers and role models”.  

Dr. Jens Thraenhart, Founder of Destination Mekong and former Executive Director of the Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office (MTCO), praised the list of candidates and stressed that “the new DM Executive Board will contribute to the success of the mission of Destination Mekong and its innovative strategies, models and operations. One of the reasons for establishing Destination Mekong was to foster a strong and balanced public-private-partnership framework to boost tourism recovery and resilience in the GMS aligned to the Tourism Strategy”.   

Willem Niemeijer, Chairman of the interim board and CEO of Yaana Ventures, and Michael Marshall, Vice-Chair of the Interim Board and CCO of Minor Hotels, commented on the high quality of the list and are looking forward to handing over their board positions to the new members.

Up to one day before the elections, 2 June 2022, all professionals active in the Greater Mekong Subregion and interested in being part of building a sustainable, inclusive, and united regional tourism destination can become Changemakers (Full voting Members) at a special launch rate. 

To become a Destination Mekong Member, please go to:

https://www.destinationmekong.com/membership/

Besides its existing initiatives, Destination Mekong will prioritize the execution of the new Mekong Tourism Recovery Communications Plan, starting with the release of the much-expected Mekong Stories book in June.

-ENDS

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Mekong Tourism Collaboration

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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Thailand’s Tourism Sector Seeks to Reopen Country by 1 July

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.

Virtual Destination Mekong Summit to offer recommendations and insights for travel businesses during COVID-19 to prepare for a balanced tourism recovery

The Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office is hosting a half-day Virtual Destination Mekong Summit, organized by public-private partnership Destination Mekong, with sponsorship of UNWTO Affiliate Member Chameleon Strategies, under the theme of “Balanced Tourism Recovery for a Better Future”. In order to assist businesses during these challenging times, the registration fee has been waived as a gesture of goodwill.

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