Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office

is staffed and overseen by the Executive Director, and supported by the Operations Manager. The staff is guided by the GMS Tourism Working Group (TWG), which is made out of senior representatives of the NTOs of the six member countries. The MTCO gives the opportunity to interns to gain valuable international tourism experience, based on qualification and need. The MTCO has two major functions:
1) Development – To co-ordinate sustainable pro-poor tourism development projects in the Mekong in line with the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, and
2) Marketing – To promote the Mekong region as a single travel and tourism destination. GMS Tourism Sector Strategy 2005-2015

Inbound tourism in the GMS has been one of the fastest growing destinations in the world. Between 2004 and 2006, the number of tourist arrivals, based on thePATA studies, increased by 26%, with an impressive 61% growth for Cambodia and 55% for Yunnan and Guangxi together. A common goal of both of public and private sectors in all countries is to create sustainable tourism profit. This is achieved optimally by increasing inbound tourism yield, by developing quality products that tourists are willing to buy, and inciting longer stays with enhanced motivation to revisit. Thus, GMS’s strategy is to “develop and promote the Mekong Region as a single destination, offering a diversity of good quality and high yielding sub regional products that helps to distribute the benefits of tourism more widely; add to the tourism development efforts of each country, by fostering a sustainable tourism development approach, by contributing to poverty reduction, gender equality and empowerment of women, while minimizing any adverse impacts.”

The strategy is comprised of 7 core programs: (1) marketing; (2) human resource development; (3) heritage conservation and mitigation of negative impacts; (4) pro-poor tourism; (5) private sector participation; (6) facilitation of travel, and (7) tourism development in priority zones. These core programs are divided into 29 projects including 16 thematic projects and 13 geographical projects.

1) Marketing the sub region as a single destination
To support multi country tourism in the GMS by stimulating demand from high yield markets through appropriate product development and joint promotional activities.

2) Human resource development with women’s empowerment
To upgrade the skills of tourism managers and tourism trainers to ensure that the strategy can be implemented and that the tourism institutions deliver quality training so that qualified staff is in place to face and manage tourism demand from high yield markets.

3) Heritage conservation and mitigation of negative socio-cultural impacts
To promote higher standards in the management of natural and cultural resources to maintain the value of what are the core tourism assets of the GMS; To strengthen socially responsible practices necessary to limit the negative impacts which uncontrolled tourism growth generates.

4) Pro-poor tourism and Equitable Distribution of Benefits
To promote patterns of tourism development that help reduce the incidence of poverty and increase economic opportunities and incomes for the poorest through their empowerment.

5) Private sector participation
To facilitate private sector participation and partnership in planning, investment and marketing.

6) Cross-border facilitation
To address impediments of travel to and within the GMS

7) Tourism-related infrastructure
To jointly plan and develop tourism infrastructure throughout the 13 identified GMS priority zones and to better spread the benefits of tourism. Key challenges over the next ten years will be to maintain sustainability and develop high yield quality tourism. This action endeavors to secure the first foundation of the GMS Tourism Sector that will allow the GMS countries to optimize the benefits from tourism for its human and economic development while preserving the cultural and natural assets, which are assets that are its main capital for the long term. About the GMS

The Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) was the fastest growing subregion in Asia and the Pacific in 2013, showing a 17% increase in international tourist arrivals compared to 2012 (Table 3). This was more than double the growth rate in Asia and the Pacific and significantly higher than ASEAN’s 11% increase. Since 2002 international tourist arrivals in the GMS have grown at an average annual rate of about 12%. Although Thailand’s share of total GMS arrivals has declined from 61% in 2004 to 51% in 2013, it remains the major international gateway to the subregion. By country, international tourist arrivals are growing fastest in Myanmar a result of the extensive political and economic reforms that began in 2011. While Yunnan Province and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region have a modest combined share (about 15%) of international arrivals, it is important to note that each received over 200 million domestic visitors in 2013. The number of annual domestic trips in Thailand (over 100 million) and Viet Nam (over 35 million) is also significant. (Source: United Nations World Tourism Organization. 2014. UNWTO Tourism Highlights, 2014 Edition)

In 2013 the GMS welcomed 51.7 million international tourist arrivals, representing a 3% share of the global market. Over 60% of international visitors originate in Asia and the Pacific, led by the PRC, Japan, Malaysia, the Republic of Korea, Thailand, and Viet Nam. In 2013 the PRC was the first or second largest source market in Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand, and Viet Nam, and the third largest source market in the Lao PDR (Table 4). Thailand was the top source market for the Lao PDR and Myanmar, and visitors from Viet Nam formed the largest share of international tourist arrivals in Cambodia. Long haul source markets from Europe comprise approximately 20% of international tourist arrivals and those from the Americas about 7%. MEKONG TOURISM FORUM

The Mekong Tourism Forum provides a cooperative platform for stakeholders in the tourism industry to discuss the development, marketing and promotion of travel to, from and within the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS). It presents an inclusive, interactive and results-oriented opportunity to encourage public and private sector participation in representing the GMS as a single destination. Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) organized the first Mekong Tourism Forum in 1996 and led it for 10 consecutive years. The hosting of this influential annual event rotated among destinations within the GMS until 2005. In subsequent years private sector initiated events around the region continued to work towards the forum’s goals. The Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office (MTCO)has revived the forum in 2010 taking place in Siem Reap, Cambodia, with the theme of “New Roads, New Opportunities”. Followed by MTF2011 “Destination Mekong: The Making of a Star” in Pakse, Laos, MTF2012 in Chiang Rai, Thailand with the theme of “20/20 Vision: Building on Two Decades of GMS Cooperation”, MTF2013 in Guilin, China with the theme ““The Rise of the Chinese traveller: Optimizing the impacts for the GMS”, and MTF2014 in Mandalay, Myanmar with the theme “Tourism investment for the protection of Heritage and Culture”. Six Nations Three Common Goals

The Mekong Tourism Forum works to achieve three main objectives:

To raise the profile of the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) as a single tourist destination
To provide an industry-wide platform for the public and private sectors to address sub-regional tourism issues
To expand marketing networks and opportunities for promoting the GMS and its stakeholders, pool collective resources and create intra-industry synergy.