Sustainable Destination Management
Strategies in the OIC Member Countries
96
The platform has been recognized with PATA Gold Awards 2018, and
with the prestigious Golden City Gate Award at ITB Berlin for its innovative approach to
regional tourismmarketing through visual content. Furthermore, the MTCO has been featured
as a driving force for tourism growth in the Asia-Pacific region by a number of industry
publications (e.g., UNWTO, PATA).
However, the integrated effort to promote Mekong River-based tourism is still lacking.
Marketing the river-based products calls for a common Mekong River product with special
interest brochures, posters and other visuals (films, DVDs, CDs) to be promoted through a
particular MTCO webpage linked to While the individual members
have excellent promotional material and sites, sufficient attention has not been made to river-
based tourism as a whole. A new brand is vital for the success of Mekong River-based
tourism.327 Regarding market segments, it was proposed that GMS/MTCO has been focusing in
the past especially on long-haul Europeans, nowadays aiming as well more on the ASEAN and
Chinese markets.328
In terms of measuring the success, the MTCO tracks 20 tourism performance indicators in the
Greater Mekong Subregion:329
1. International Visitor Arrivals
2. Average Length of Stay
3. Top 10 Source Markets by Region and Country
4. Percentage of Tourist Arrivals by Air
5. Percentage of Tourist Arrivals by Land
6. Percentage of Tourist Arrivals by Sea
7. Scheduled International Inbound Flights
8. Inbound Air Seat Capacity
9. Number of Countries Permitted to obtain Tourist Visa on Arrival
10. Number of International Border Checkpoints (land, sea, air) Offering Tourist Visa on
Arrival
11. Number of Hotels
12. Number of Hotel Rooms
13. Average Occupancy Rates of Hotels
14. Number of Tour Operators
15. Number of Registered Tour Guides
16. Tourism Receipts
17. Tourist Expenditures
18. Tourism Investment
19. Tourism’s Direct Contribution to Employment
20. Tourism’s Direct Contribution to Gross Domestic Product
Results are presented on the website on an annual basis (see example below) 330:
327 World Tourism Organization, Mekong River-Based Tourism Product Development.
328 Team Leader; GIZ, Laos
329 "GMS Tourism Performance," Mekong Tourism, accessed August 14, 2019,
330 Ibid.