Lighting The Path To Global Tourism: Empowering Local Hosts In The Greater Mekong Subregion

Published on September 15, 2025

The Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) is taking a awesome measurement toward improving its tourism assemblage by launching a location integer training programme aimed astatine supporting micro, small, and medium-scale accommodation providers. This inaugural is simply a business betwixt nan Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office (MTCO) and integer recreation level Agoda. It is designed to thief homestays, ecolodges, and guesthouses successful agrarian and secondary destinations wrong nan GMS heighten their online beingness and competitiveness successful nan world marketplace.

The E-commerce Training for MSME Accommodation Providers will statesman successful Thailand connected 18 September 2025. This convention marks nan commencement of a broad training bid moving done November 2025. The inaugural is portion of a broader strategy to empower mini businesses and beforehand sustainable tourism crossed nan region.

Training Program for Regional Growth

This integer training inaugural is captious for GMS countries, wherever small-scale accommodation providers shape a captious portion of nan tourism ecosystem. These businesses, often successful agrarian aliases less-visited areas, are basal to community-based and inclusive tourism. By offering these operators nan basal integer tools, nan programme intends to amended their visibility and thief them cater to nan expanding number of world travelers.

Participants will study really to efficaciously database their services connected platforms for illustration Agoda, negociate inventory and pricing, and prosecute pinch customer reviews. The training will besides screen really to instrumentality promotions and upload photos that tin pull a wider audience. By equipping these businesses pinch nan skills to win online, nan programme helps section accommodation providers enactment competitive, fostering semipermanent sustainability for agrarian tourism.

Collaboration Between Public and Private Sectors

This is nan first clip MTCO and Agoda have collaborated pinch nan nationalist tourism organizations of Cambodia, China (Yunnan and Guangxi), Lao PDR, Thailand, and Vietnam. The business represents a breakthrough successful location cooperation, underlining nan value of public-private collaborations successful advancing integer translator and enhancing tourism.

Ms. Suvimol Thanasarakij, Executive Director of MTCO, expressed nan value of nan initiative, saying that by moving together crossed borders, nan business would guarantee mini businesses successful nan region person entree to nan integer devices basal to link pinch world travelers and beforehand nan region’s unsocial experiences.

Agoda’s Chief Commercial Officer, Mr. Damien Pfirsch, besides highlighted nan value of nan partnership, noting that this collaboration reflects Agoda’s committedness to supporting mini businesses and utilizing exertion to heighten world visibility. He emphasized that nan inaugural would thief administer economical benefits crossed nan GMS, benefiting some mini operators and section communities.

A Long-term Vision for Tourism Growth

The training programme will tally successful respective countries, starting pinch Thailand and expanding to Cambodia, Viet Nam, Lao PDR, and China (Yunnan & Guangxi). This wide-reaching inaugural will beryllium delivered online successful section languages, making it accessible to accommodation providers successful agrarian areas who whitethorn different struggle pinch integer engagement.

This bid of workshops is expected to laic nan instauration for stronger tourism businesses passim nan Greater Mekong Subregion, positioning these regions to meet nan increasing request for sustainable recreation options. By helping mini accommodation providers amended their online beingness and business operations, nan inaugural will not only use these businesses but will besides promote responsible tourism and organization engagement successful nan region.

Supporting Sustainable and Inclusive Tourism

With this caller initiative, nan GMS intends to equilibrium nan increasing request for tourism pinch nan request for sustainability. The training will heighten nan capabilities of small-scale accommodation providers, enabling them to go much competitory while ensuring they lend to section economies and support a attraction connected sustainable tourism practices.

These efforts will yet thief agrarian communities successful nan GMS capitalize connected nan rising inclination of eco-tourism, allowing them to stock their unsocial cultures and earthy resources pinch visitors successful a responsible and meaningful way.

By enhancing integer capabilities astatine nan grassroots level, this collaboration is simply a game-changer for section tourism operators. The inaugural not only improves businesses’ expertise to pull world travelers but besides helps sphere nan taste and biology integrity of these destinations.

Empowering Local Businesses for a Sustainable Future successful Tourism

The caller integer training programme launched by nan Greater Mekong Subregion, MTCO, and Agoda is simply a milestone successful nan improvement of tourism crossed agrarian and less-visited areas. This inaugural will supply mini accommodation providers pinch nan devices they request to thrive successful an progressively integer and competitory world. As nan programme progresses done nan region, it promises to bring important benefits to some section businesses and world visitors seeking authentic, community-based experience.