November 9, 2021

The Greater Mekong Subregion has increasingly focused on developing sustainable and inclusive tourism in recent years, with positive changes fostered by strong engagement between government, the private sector, and civil society. This has helped transform the region into one of the world’s most desirable places to visit while significantly benefitting residents and local economies.

The Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office, an initiative of the 6-country Greater Mekong Subregion Tourism Working Group, is one of many stakeholders driving positive change. Our initiatives to promote the region as a single destination, create a nurturing environment for sustainable tourism, and support responsible tourism businesses are recognized as global good practices. These include the Mekong Moments storytelling campaign, Mekong Tourism Forum, and Experience Mekong Collection of responsible travel businesses and social enterprises, which are all accessible through our mekongtourism.org website.

We recognize that the COVID-19 pandemic has brought much hardship to communities and businesses dependant on tourism, with many struggling to keep afloat. At the same time, the pandemic offers an opportunity to re-think how we can create a stronger and more resilient tourism industry built on local experiences that mutually benefit visitors and hosts. We believe that sharing these experiences with the world is vital to enable a sustainable tourism recovery.

This tourism recovery communications plan intends to support a safe and sustainable tourism recovery in the Greater Mekong Subregion. On behalf of the Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office, we thank the Greater Mekong Subregion national tourism organizations for their valuable inputs and guidance to prepare the plan. We also thank Destination Mekong, the Mekong Tourism Advisory Group, travel trade organizations, tourism businesses, the media, academia, nongovernment organizations, and other Greater Mekong Subregion development partners for collaborating with us to produce and implement the plan. We firmly believe that our collective efforts will help build confidence to travel and support a sustainable tourism recovery.

Download the publication.

This was originally posted on Mekong Tourism.