Northern Thailand
strengthened its position as the Greater Mekong Subregion’s travel hub
following the successful three-day Mekong Tourism Forum (MTF) in Chiang Rai,
which ended on June 14. About 350 delegates from Thailand,
Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar,
Vietnam and China’s Yunnan Province
attended the annual event, which included a two-day conference, several
workshops, a small trade show and meetings of the GMS Tourism Working Group.
The theme for MTF 2012 was “20/20 Vision: Building on Two
Decades of GMS Cooperation.” Organised by the Bangkok-based Mekong Tourism
Coordinating Office, the event aimed to raise the profile of the GMS as a
single tourist destination.
Chiang Rai, Thailand’s northernmost province, was chosen as
the venue because it borders both Laos
and Myanmar,
and will play an important role as a bridgehead to the entire sub-region. One
of the key border checkpoints allows visitors to cross from Mae Sai in Chiang
Rai to Tachilek in Myanmar.
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| Chiang Rai |
The area where the borders of the three countries converge,
known as the Golden Triangle, was a focal point for opium drug wars in the
1970s and 80s. In the keynote presentation by Mom Rajawongse Disnadda Diskul,
Secretary-General of the Mae Fah Luang Foundation (MFLF) under Royal Patronage,
MTF delegates gained unique insights into how the area was reforested and
transformed into a major producer of coffee and macadamia nuts as well as a
centre for horticulture research.
Initiated in the 1980s by Her Royal Highness Princess Sri
Nagarindra, the late mother of His Majesty King Bhumibhol Adulyadej, the
holistic and integrated sustainable alternative livelihood development
initiative has helped the hilltribe people of the Doi Tung highland area to
become economically self-reliant without compromising the environment or their
own cultural values.
The presentation on the development initiative was hailed by
a number of the MTF delegates, including Pacific Asia Travel Association CEO
Martin Craigs, as an “inspiring example of how the people of Asia
could tap their own indigenous resources to solve local problems.”
MTFdelegates also visited some of the attractions in the
area, including the Mae
Fah Luang
Art & Culture Park, the Hall of Inspiration, the Hall
of Opium and the former residence of the Princess Mother.
At the MTF 2012 event, representatives from Google also
updated delegates on the latest marketing and travel trends. Several other
speakers offered insights on community-based tourism and preparing for a
significantly increasing number of visitors to the GMS. Factors contributing to
this growth include the opening up of Myanmar,
the outbound travel potential of China
and India,
the implementation of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) by 2015, and
significant upgrades of infrastructure and transportation links, especially the
Asian Highway.
The choice of Chiang Mai for the MTF 2012 event highlighted Northern Thailand’s unique cultural and historic
attractions. Encouraging tourism in Northern Thailand
is now a major strategic priority for the Ministry of Tourism and Sports as
part of a national development policy to better balance distribution of
visitors nationwide and narrow the tourism earnings gap with the rest of the
country.
PATA organized the first MTF in 1996 and led it for 10
years. The event then rotated among various GMS destinations until 2005. The
Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office (MTCO) revived the forum in 2010 in Siem Reap, Cambodia,
while MTF 2011 took place in Laos.
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