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Join the Virtual Destination Mekong Summit and hear from international experts recommendations and insights for travel businesses during COVID-19 to prepare for a balanced tourism recovery. The objective of the event is to answer burning questions, offer actionable suggestions on how to survive these challenging times, and how to best prepare for an accelerated recovery.

CHAPTER 9

The Sustainability

NGOs will discuss the opportunity to restart tourism in a sustainable and responsible way, as well as the challenges in actually executing such a vision. How can restarting tourism integrate local communities and keep child protection in focus, as well as protect wildlife and conserve the environment by focusing on climate change and single-use plastic pollution.

Listen to Ms. Janina Bikova from Wildlife Conservation Society and Ms. Gabriela Kuhn from ECPAT International. The session is moderated by Mr. Roi Ariel.

Speakers of this chapter:

Ms. Janina Bikova | Ecotourism Advisor Laos, Wildlife Conservation Society

Ms Janina specializes in wildlife ecotourism in protected areas. She joined Wildlife Conservation Society Laos in 2015 as Ecotourism Advisor for Nam Et-Phou Louey National Park, the largest protected area within the country. Her activities focus on ensuring successful management and development of the National Park’s ecotourism program by linking together growing community-based tourism with conservation outcomes.

Ms. Gabriela Kuhn | Head of Programme, ECPAT International

Gabriela Kühn is in charge of ECPAT program strategy on child protection in travel and tourism, including The Code of Conduct for the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation in Travel and Tourism.

Gabriela brings 14 years of experience working in children's rights organizations, including grass-root NGOs providing direct psychological and legal help to children victims of sexual exploitation. Gabriela holds the European Master’s Programme Degree in Human Rights and Democratisation, a post-graduate degree in international co-operation and development and a master's degree in foreign languages.

Mr. Roi Ariel | General Manager, Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC)

Roi Ariel has been focusing on responsible travel and sustainable tourism over the past decade. In his role, Roi manages GSTC's memberships, communications, events and operations. This includes working closely with key governmental agencies and influential companies to mainstream and promote adherence to sustainability standards in travel and tourism.

He previously worked with UN-ESCAP researching sustainable development and green growth in Southeast Asia, and on sustainability issues with the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA). He also served as the Green Economy Initiative Advisor for EcoPeace Middle East in Israel, as well as sustainable tourism advisor in countries around the world including China, Madagascar, and Taiwan.

The Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office (MTCO) and Destination Mekong invite travel professionals from both public and private sectors from all over the world to join. We have waived registration fees in order to assist travel and tourism professionals during these challenging times.

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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.