MI DEVELOPED AND DISSEMINATED A TRAINING CURRICULUM PACKAGE PROMOTING SUSTAINABLE AND SMART TOURISM PRACTICES IN THE MEKONG REGION

Trade and Investment Facilitation

In an effort to support the creation of “smart tourism cities and destinations” and strengthen the five Mekong countries’ capacities to be more competitive in global tourism market, Mekong Institute (MI)’s Trade and Investment Facilitation hosted a dissemination meeting to introduce a curriculum package focusing on tools and techniques for sustainable and smart tourism development on November 29, 2023.

A total of 27 project’s stakeholders in the Mekong region (Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam) attended the online meeting, comprising government’s tourism promotion agencies, tour and travel organizations/operators, tourism enterprises, universities/hospitality education, and training centres.

The training curriculum package was designed and developed in collaboration with School of Culture & Tourism, Jeonju University of Republic of Korea (RoK). The package introduces a number of important areas of cutting-edge knowledge about sustainable tourism and digital transformation and gives introduction to key aspects on monitoring sustainability and gaining resilience.

The whole package consists of six interrelated modules, covering 21 sub-topics with a daily session plan for conducting a 5-day training program namely:

Module i. Understanding the Tourism Value Chain and the Tourism Ecosystem through System Thinking
Module ii. Introduction of Sustainable Tourism and the Need for a Regenerative approach
Module iii. Sustainable Tourism Governance and Strategic Planning
Module iv. Frameworks for Monitoring Sustainable Tourism, module v. Smart Tourism & Sustainability
Module vi. developing Adaptive Capacities for Resilient Tourism Ecosystems.

It is expected that the training module contents will be transferred and utilized by the prospective stakeholders in the Mekong region for incorporation and integration into their capacity-building activities of organization, association, and training center respectively.

This activity is part of a three-year project on “Sustainable and Smart Tourism Development in the Mekong Region”, funded by the RoK through the Mekong – Republic of Korea Cooperation Fund (MKCF). The ultimate goal is to consolidate human resource in managing the growing inbound tourism market through the adoption of sustainable and smart tourism practices in the Mekong countries.

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Mrs. Guohua Liu

Director, Sustainable Energy & Environment (SEE) Department

Mrs. Liu Guohua is the Director of the Sustainable Energy and Environment Department at the Mekong Institute. Prior to this role, she worked in the Department of International Economic Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, where she played a key role in shaping and implementing China’s cooperation strategies with UN development agencies. During this time, Mrs. Liu was actively involved in advancing initiatives related to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with a focus on climate change and green development. Additionally, she contributed to the evaluation of projects funded by various Chinese initiatives, such as the Global Development and South-South Cooperation Fund, Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Special Fund, etc.

In addition to her work in the Department of International Economic Affairs, Mrs. Liu has an extensive diplomatic background. She spent 7 years in the Department of African Affairs, followed by a 4-year tenure at the Chinese Embassy in Lao PDR, where she gained deep expertise in both Southeast Asian and African affairs. These diverse experiences have played a crucial role in shaping her approach to sustainable development and international collaboration, particularly in building regional partnerships and tackling global challenges like climate change.

She holds a Master’s degree in Economics, with a specialization in Finance, from the Central University of Finance and Economics, and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics, specializing in International Economics and Trade, from the Shanghai University of International Business and Economics.