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Dear Mekong Tourism Stakeholder,

Visual storytelling is a powerful tool for destinations and businesses to engage travelers, increase exposure, and get more bookings.

Research has shown that visual content, especially from bloggers and movies, has a high impact on decision making and destination choices of travelers. We have launched a number of award-winning initiatives that make use of inspiring visual content to promote the Greater Mekong Subregion as a single destination, including the Mekong Moments and Mekong Mini Movie Festival.

In 2018, the MTCO organized the 1st Asia Destination Film Forum at the Mekong Tourism Forum in Nakhon Phanom, Thailand, to celebrate the importance of visual storytelling in destination marketing and sustainability. This year, on January 30, the 2nd Asia Destination Film Forum & Mekong Mini Movie Festival Awards will take place in Bangkok at Quaint, Sukhumvit 61. The event has an impressive line-up of speakers, including filmmakers, representatives from governments, tourism industry leaders, as well as NGOs. The Forum features case studies of films, including "The Stranded", "The Cave", and "Hangover Part II". A film screening lunch will feature Hanuman Film's "The Last Reel" from Cambodia. You can find details on the agenda and speakers on https://www.destinationfilmforum.com.

I would like to personally invite you all to join us at the event using discount code DFF20MTCO. Please do also join us at the Film Festival Happy Hour at the Hyatt Regency Bangkok Sukhumvit, which is organized in partnership with PATA and Travel Massive on 29 January from 17:30.

We would like to ask you to mark your diary for our initiatives this year. Please see the MTCO 2020 calendar below. I am also happy to inform you that the MTCO will present our work in sustainable tourism at the UNWTO SDG Expert Conference at FITUR in Spain this week. In addition, MTCO was showcased by TTG Asia under the topic "Shaping the Future of Travel". Please click here to read the full article.

Lastly, please mark your diary on 4 March 2020, when in our ongoing partnership with ITB Berlin, the 4th Mekong Tourism @ ITB Berlin will bring the Asia Destination Film Forum to the biggest travel trade show in the world, focusing on visual storytelling and screen tourism.

With this, I wish you all a successful week and I look forward to meeting you in Bangkok on 30 January.

Kind regards,

Jens Thraenhart
Executive Director
Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office (MTCO)

MTCO 2020 Calendar

Impressions from events

51st Meeting of the ASEAN National Tourism Organizations

The MTCO was presenting our initiatives at the 51st Meeting of the ASEAN National Tourism Organizations in Brunei.

Upcoming Events

Featured shared experiences from MekongMoments.com

Share your experiences in the Mekong Region on your own social media (Instagram, Twitter, YouTube), and tag with #MekongMoments #<country> #<business>. Visit MekongMoments.info to learn how to list your business for free.

SHAPING THE FUTURE OF TRAVEL

The strategy of the MTCO, which was established as the secretariat of the GMS Tourism Working Group of the six-member governments in 2005, over the past five years has been built entirely around contribution, collaboration, and stakeholder engagement. Financed through member country contributions, the MTCO had to create a different model in order to execute and implement the action plan set out in the 2015-2020 Experience Mekong Tourism Marketing Strategy.

Recent Additions to the Mekong Tourism e-Library

Asian Tourism Expert Guide 2019-2020

To see the future, one must understand the past. And so, TTG Asia's team of editors and reporters have once again produced this Asian Tourism Expert Guide, now in its 12th edition, to provide a snapshot of 2019 travel and tourism performance as well as developments that are worth watching in the new year.

Download here

Featured Experience Mekong Collection Member

Villageworks supports vulnerable and marginalised groups by creating economic opportunities. We train and provide skills to home-based workers in remote parts of rural Cambodia and disabled people in Phnom Penh, with the aim of promoting sustainable livelihoods. Villageworks also strives to provide our artisans with sustainable employment and increase their opportunities, particularly with the intention of empowering women living in rural parts of Cambodia.

Visit ExperienceMekong.org to see all current EMC members.

The Experience Mekong Collection (EMC) curates small businesses that focus on sustainable and responsible practices to create a unique experiences for guests. Anybody can nominate businesses to be included in the Experience Mekong Collection, and an advisory board of tourism experts vets nominations for integrity and relevance. In partnership with Mahidol University, each year, one business per country (six in total) is selected to be one of the Experience Mekong Collection Showcases, with case studies to highlighting the nature and innovation of the business. Nominate your favorite small responsible business today for inclusion in the Experience Mekong Collection!

To see our new media page with our latest press releases here

MTCO is active on various social media platforms under the universal handle @TourismMekong. Please
Tag with #MekongMoments #TourismMekong and follow us:

The Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office is a collaborative effort between the governments of Cambodia, China, Lao PRD, Myanmar, Thailand, and Viet Nam to promote the Greater Mekong Subregion as a single tourism destination.