Sustainable Destination Management

Strategies in the OIC Member Countries

Best Practices in Governance Structure

The Public-Private Partnership Model is arguably best suited for encouraging higher levels of

collaboration between public and private entities needed for MDTCs to thrive. Public-private

partnerships allow for higher levels of participation and ensure, to a greater extent, the support

of the private sector for corridor development and management policies and strategies.

Corridor management entities are typically composed of representatives from corridor

member countries. Some MDTCs have a secretariat or a board of directors, which is responsible

for coordination among the corridor partners, permanently located at one of its nodes, while

other corridors shift the secretariat location between different nodes along the corridor

according to the site of the entity responsible for managing the corridor at that point in time.

In addition to the secretariat or board of directors, MDTCs typically have local steering

committees with members from various stakeholder groups responsible for strategic planning

and implementation. Destination Napoleon provides an excellent example of the layered

organizational structure needed for MDTC management. It has a board of directors and an

executive committee, in addition to local steering committees. The executive and local steering

committees determine the strategies and implementation tools for the corridor. The local

steering committees are composed of representatives of various stakeholders, including

regional and local authorities, as well as public entities such as museums, universities, and

think tanks. They also have representatives from the tourism industry and professional

associations.

In the case of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) TC, the private-public partnership model is

evident in the presence of the Mekong Tourism Advisory Group, which includes

representatives from the private sector and industry associations. The Mekong Tourism

Advisory Group is involved in coordinating support for GMS tourism products, participating in

events to promote GMS tourism, and identifying constraints on the business environment.

Besides this body, the GMS TC has a Tourism Coordination Office and a Tourism Working

Group.

The Mekong Tourism Coordination Office is responsible for coordinating and implementing

programs, including continuously upgrading and maintaining the online portals such as the

main portal of the TC

” The national tourismworking groups set priorities

for national implementation of programs and projects in corridor member countries. The GMS

Tourism Working Group includes senior officials from each member country, NTO, and serves

as an advisory board to the Mekong Tourism Coordination Office by providing technical

guidance for planning, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating sub-regional activities.

Best practice examples from global corridors show the existence of a formal structure with

well-defined roles for the various committees and bodies in the management of MDTCs, as

shown in the GMS TC example. The presence of local steering committees, as shown in the

Destination Napoleon TC, can facilitate the development of plans and implementation at the

local level in various nodes along the corridor.

Ibid.

UNWTO and European Travel Commission. 2017. Handbook on Marketing Transnational Tourism Themes and Routes.

Please refer to the Greater Mekong Subregion tourism corridor case study for references and more details.