Mekong Tourism Forum confirms top speakers
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BANGKOK, 27 April 2010 - The Mekong Tourism Forum has confirmed a compelling list of speakers to address its theme for 2010, “New Roads, New Opportunities.”
Tourism ministers, director generals, travel industry CEOs and leading private sector and development minds will address current and future challenges and opportunities facing tourism in the Mekong region. The Forum takes place in Siem Reap, Cambodia, 7-8 May 2010.
High profile speakers include H.E. Dr Thong Khon, Minister of Tourism of Cambodia, Mr Luzi Matzig, Group CEO, Asian Trails, Mr Pradech Phayakvichien, former Governor, Tourism Authority of Thailand, Mr Bill Black, Managing Director, Altiva Hospitality, Mr Tran Trong Kien, Founder and CEO of Buffalo Tours Vietnam, Ms Chananya Phataraprasit, Chairperson, Asian Oasis, Mr Inthy Deansavan, Managing Director of Green Discovery Laos, and Mr Greg Duffell CEO of PATA, to name a few.
One of the highlights will be “In Conversation with Lim Neo Chian”. In this session Yeoh Siew Hoon, Editor & Producer of WIT-Web In Travel will interview the former CEO of the Singapore Tourism Board, who will share Mekong-region travel encounters from his 2009 “ASEAN On Wheels” 4-wheel drive adventure. He will highlight the opportunities that he sees for Mekong tourism growth in the years ahead.
Other top level session moderators and controllers, such as Ludwig Rieder of Asia Pacific Projects, Mr Don Ross of TTR Weekly, and Mr Tith Chanta, Director General of the Ministry of Tourism Cambodia, will define and direct the debates at the Forum.
Opportunities and threats will be analyzed against a backdrop of growth. “Tourism demand for Mekong region destinations is storming ahead,” said Mr Mason Florence, Executive Director of the Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office in Bangkok. “We need to work together to make sure development is fair and sustainable and that we remove obstacles to growth and poverty alleviation.”
With new road corridors opening much of the sub-region, there will be sessions on “Pioneering Mekong Tourism Products,” “The Path to Community-based Tourism,” “How Sustainable Tourism Can Drive Profit,” and “The Road Ahead.”
Government speakers will update the audience on visa regulations, border crossing changes, airport developments, and new policies and incentives for the tourism sector.
For the full program showing all speakers, visit http://mekongtourismforum.org/site/forum/programme/
The Mekong Tourism Forum 2010 is open to all. Registration (only US$50; PATA members US$30) can be done online at www.mekongtourismforum.org.
For further information email to: mtf@mekongtourism.org or call the Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office at: (+66) 2-612-4150.
About the Mekong Tourism Forum
The Mekong Tourism Forum provides a cooperative platform for stakeholders in the tourism industry to discuss the development, marketing and promotion of travel to, from and within the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS). It is an inclusive, interactive and results-oriented opportunity aiming to encourage public and private sector participants to work together to represent the GMS as a single destination.
The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) organized the first Mekong Tourism Forum in 1996 and led it for 10 consecutive years. The hosting of this influential annual event rotated among destinations within the GMS until 2005, and in the years following private sector initiated events continued to work towards the forum’s goals. The Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office will revive the forum in 2010.
About the Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office
The Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office (MTCO) is an intergovernmental body uniting the national tourism organizations (NTOs) of the six-nation Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS). It is tasked with fostering the sustainable development and promotion of travel within the region, and marketing the GMS as a single destination under the ‘Mekong Tourism’ brand. Website: www.MekongTourism.org
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