Thailand’s Golf Digg and Viet Nam’s Spa Noir emerged as winners in the Mekong Innovative Startups in Tourism (MIST) 2019. Golf Digg, an online golf booking service, won as best Travel Technology Venture.
The development of night markets in three towns along the Mekong River aims to help revitalize the Greater Mekong Subregion and reduce poverty. Photo credit: Javier Coloma Brotons.
A pilot project has developed night markets in selected border towns in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) to take advantage of the economic opportunities opened by infrastructure projects in the area.
Khamking Koemany is a homestay provider on Don Khon Island, one of the popular sites for tourists visiting the Four Thousand Islands group on the Mekong River in Champasack Province. His business has flourished since he received training in tourism services under the GMS Sustainable Tourism Development Project. Photo: ADB.
Blessed with rich natural resources and a strategic location at the heart of the Greater Mekong Subregion, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic has emerged from decades of turmoil and isolation to become one of the fastest growing economies in Southeast Asia since 2011.
Cambodia has long stretches of pristine beaches. However, tourism is highly concentrated in the area around the temples of Angkor. To spread the economic benefits of tourism, the Asian Development Bank is helping the Ministry of Tourism promote coastal tourism by improving infrastructure and environmental management.
Thailand plans to limit the number of visitors to natural attractions such as the Mekong and Chao Phraya rivers.
Tourist attractions in the Mandalay region include the more than 2,000 temples and pagodas in the ancient city of Bagan. Photo: iStock.com.
The 2020 Mekong Tourism Forum will be held in Mandalay, one of Myanmar’s top tourist destinations.
Ferry services between Kampot in Cambodia and Phu Quoc Island (in photo), a leading tourist attraction in Viet Nam, are expected to promote tourism as well as benefit residents and local businesses in the Southern Coastal Subcorridor. Photo: iStock.com.
An international seaport project in Southern Cambodia will serve as a gateway for direct ferry services to Viet Nam and later to other destinations in the Gulf of Thailand. The fast ferry services are expected to boost tourism in the Southern Coastal Subcorridor of the Greater Mekong Subregion.
Tourism is growing rapidly in Viet Nam, but most growth and corresponding socioeconomic benefits are concentrated in a few gateway destinations, says ADB Project Administration Unit Head for Viet Nam Mr. Steven Schipani. Photo: ADB.
HA NOI, VIET NAM (10 December 2018) — The Asian Development Bank has approved a $45 million loan to help Viet Nam transform secondary towns into more economically inclusive, competitive tourism destinations.
Traditional festive lights adorn a temple in Luang Prabang. Photo: iStock.com.
The United Nations’ World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) cited last year’s Mekong Tourism Forum in Luang Prabang as one of seven case studies showcasing a socially inclusive tourism policy.
A startup from Luang Prabang that supplies reusable bamboo straws to the hospitality industry won the top prize in the 2018 Mekong Innovative Startups in Tourism (MIST) competition. Photo: MIST.
A reusable bamboo straw producer from the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) beat 111 entrants from across Southeast Asia to take the top prize in the 2018 Mekong Innovative Startups in Tourism (MIST) challenge.
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
