Langda Chea entered BookMeBus in the Market Access Program of Mekong Innovative Startups in Tourism (MIST), which helps mature startups in the Mekong region to expand into new markets. Photo courtesy of MIST.
The Mekong Business Initiative, sponsored by the Australian Government and the Asian Development Bank, is sourcing international investment and facilitating regional expansion for innovative startups.
Startup entrepreneurs get advice from experts at a tourism mentoring bootcamp. Photo: MIST.
The best tourism startups will converge at the 2017 Mekong Tourism Forum on June 6 to pitch their business plans to venture capitalists and industry experts.
This issue of the Journal focuses on the seminal research undertaken by Social Research Institute of Chiang Mai University (SRI-CMU) on the question: How does community-based tourism (CBT) impact on poverty? Five research papers were selected from the SRI-CMU project. The overview article, Tourism: Blessings for All?, by Mingsarn Kaosa-ard, discusses the returns from tourism and how these returns are being shared from a national perspective. The benefits and the potential negative impacts of tourism are weighed.
The Ministers of Tourism of the six GMS countries (Cambodia, People’s Republic of China, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand, and Viet Nam) met in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on 17 January 2011.
Senior officials from the GMS National Tourism Organizations (NTOs), and representatives from the Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office (MTCO) and development partners including the Asian Development Bank, UNESCO, French Embassy, UNDP, and Spanish Embassy also attended.
The meeting was held in conjunction with the ASEAN Tourism Forum 2011.
MANILA, PHILIPPINES (25 January 2011) - The Asian Development Bank will continue to help countries in the Greater Mekong Subregion promote tourism as a way to reduce poverty. The announcement came at the 2011 ASEAN Tourism Forum in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh.
PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA (25 November 2014) – The Asian Development Bank has approved an $18 million loan to build a marine ferry terminal and other infrastructure in southern Cambodia to open up new opportunities for tourism beyond current popular destinations like the famous temples of Angkor.
ADB has helped turn former war-torn Greater Mekong Subregion countries of Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Viet Nam into a booming tourist destination.
Greater Mekong Subregion Secretariat
Regional Cooperation and Operations Coordination Division,
Southeast Asia Department, Asian Development Bank
Address: 6 ADB Avenue, Mandaluyong City 1550, Metro Manila, Philippines
Telephone: +63 2 8632 4444 Fax: +63 2 8636 2226
