Sustainable Destination Management
Strategies in the OIC Member Countries
49
Ways Association provides training and tools to the local partners to refresh the trail markers,
in addition to keeping regular contact with them to ensure standards are maintained.136
In the case of the Greater Mekong Subregion TC, various training programs, with support from
the Asian Development Bank and bilateral donors, are provided to the tourism industry. In the
context of the Mekong Innovative Start-ups in Tourism Program, initiated in partnership with
the ADB and supported by the Australian government, tourism start-ups from corridor
countries are provided training through intensive boot camps with the help of mentors. Start-
ups have also facilitated access through the program to incubators and investors.137
Best Practices in Sustainability
UNWTO proposes that resource management, which fulfills the economic, social, and aesthetic
needs of tourists and local communities, as a cornerstone of sustainable tourism. Management
of MDTCs can play an important role in the pursuit of sustainable tourism, especially
considering that the development of MDTCs essentially helps in the preservation of heritage
whether tangible or intangible. MDTCs can be used to attract tourists to less-known
destinations along corridors improving economic opportunities for local communities. 138
The fact that MDTCs also offer a combination of various assets can help to spread demand
across the various sites in corridor countries in a way that preserves the assets redirecting
tourists from high-traffic to less-known sites and spreading benefits to all communities. 139 In
the case of the Danube TC, well-known destinations are combined with less-known tourist
destinations in tour packages offered by travel agents to improve the traffic to these sites and
lower the pressure on highly frequented locations.140
The sustainable management of the natural and cultural heritage assets of corridor countries
is an important task for MDTCs. Cooperation between corridor countries can be instrumental
in this area, especially in the case of shared assets, as in the case of the Wadden Sea TC, when
the Netherlands, Germany, and Denmark signed a “Joint Declaration on the Protection of the
Wadden Sea” in 1982. In the case of the Neusidlersee-Seewinkly and Ferto-Hansag
Transboundary National Park linking eastern Austria and western Hungary, bilateral
agreements were signed to regulate water levels in Lake Neusiedl.141
Best Practices in Diversifying Funding Sources
Funding is considered one of the major challenges for the development and promotion of
MDTCs. Most MDTCs are mainly publicly funded by national governments of member countries,
with some also benefiting from grants from bilateral, regional, and international entities. Local
private tourism businesses and professional associations have also contributed to MDTC
136 UNWTO (UNWTO) and European Travel Commission. 2017. Handbook on Marketing Transnational Tourism Themes and
Routes.
137 Please refer to the Greater Mekong Subregion tourism corridor case study for references and more details.
138 Klarić, Vlasta. 2013. Managing Visitors on Thematic Cultural Routes Handbook. Ministry of Tourism of the Republic of
Croatia.
139 UNWTO (2015), Affiliate Members Global Reports, Volume twelve – Cultural Routes and Itineraries, UNWTO, Madrid.
140 Klarić, Vlasta. 2013. Managing Visitors on Thematic Cultural Routes Handbook. Ministry of Tourism of the Republic of
Croatia.
141 UNWTO (UNWTO) and European Travel Commission. 2017. Handbook on Marketing Transnational Tourism Themes and
Routes.