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In addition to announcing the grand prize winners of the first annual Mekong Mini Movie Festival, the Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office will officially call for public participation in this year’s iteration of the award-winning and globally recognized competition.
BANGKOK, January 16, 2019 – Over 22,000 campaign followers, nearly 900,000 video views, a psychosocial reach eclipsing seven million people – these award-winning results of the 2018 Mekong Mini Movie Festival has prompted the MTCO to launch the public contest yet again in 2019, laying the foundation for public exposure for the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS).
From January 16 to April 11, the Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office (MTCO) is calling for the public to post 60-second (or less) videos showcasing one or more GMS countries to their social media accounts with the hashtags #Minis, #MekongMoments, and #[Country]. By leveraging these pre-qualified hashtags, the MTCO aims to bolster its searchable and hugely scalable social media community that’s purposed to shed light on the experiences of the GMS.
“Today, a video is a powerful medium in inspiring travellers and promoting a destination,” remarked Jens Thraenhart, Executive Director of the Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office. “It has the chance to awaken the desire to travel to secondary destinations, away from overcrowded places, and promote sustainable and inclusive tourism.”
Winners of the 2019 competition will be announced in phases beyond the April 11 deadline and voting is set to come from both the public and a specially chosen advisory board comprising of some top tourism industry leaders in Southeast Asia.
Over 500 minutes of unique destination video aired on social media platforms worldwide as a result of 2018’s festival and while that number rendered award-winning results, the MTCO has hopes to surpass that mark this year with its new partnership with the Pacific Asia Travel Association’s (PATA) Student Chapters. These chapters are established around the world, comprising students from the educational institution, to fulfil the association’s objectives at a grassroots youth level.
“To ensure the responsible development of the travel and tourism industry, it is important to engage with the next generation of tourism professionals. The Mekong Mini Movie Festival is the perfect opportunity to involve the PATA Student Chapter network in helping promote the Mekong region and the importance of a sustainable and inclusive tourism industry,” said PATA CEO Dr. Mario Hardy.
The entire Mekong Mini Movie Festival campaign is hosted on the MekongMoments.com collaborative social commerce campaign platform, which is executed by a public-private partnership involving GMS tourism ministries. The MTCO has also partnered with the UNWTO, the World Wildlife Federation (WWF), and marketing technology firm Chameleon Strategy to carry out the second annual contest in 2019.
The Trophy of the 2019 Mekong Mini Movie Festival, like last year, will depict the Mekong River Irrawaddy Dolphin which is aimed to raise awareness of the highly endangered species. The dolphin – which has less than 100 individuals left in a 118-mile stretch of the Mekong River between Cambodia and Lao PDR – is currently categorised as “vulnerable” by the WWF.
2018 Phase-Two Grand Prize Winners
Cambodia
IG: ICHOSUN
Name: Khun Wiratchai
Nationality: Thailand
Video: http://bit.ly/2RLPPlu
Lao PDR
IG: THEMISSCHUA
Name: Melanie Chua
Nationality: Philippines
Video: http://bit.ly/2D4P4vX
Thailand
YOUTUBE: KAPIL RICKY
Name: Kapil Kumar
Nationality: India
Video: http://bit.ly/2M2EEzC
Myanmar
IG: WHEREIVEBEENWANDERING
Name: Sarah
Nationality: USA
Video: http://bit.ly/2FqRfvp
Viet Nam
YOUTUBE: CHRISTIANS VLOG
Name: Christian Bruckner (winner of Industry Choice, Thailand)
Nationality: Germany
Video: http://bit.ly/2skNrnu
Regional
IG: BANANA_CHRIZ
Name: Christian Madl
Nationality: Austria
Video: http://bit.ly/2RJVkkS
Luxury
IG: LIFEOFJIRA
Name: Jirapan Phahsonchum
Nationality: Australia
Video: http://bit.ly/2AFI2Mx
For more information about the Mekong Mini Movie Festival and its conditions, please visit www.mekongmoments.com/minis/info
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For further information please contact:
Justin Millerson
FLAME.asia
Communications & Content Studio
Phone: 082-605-6946
E-mail: justin@flame.asia
Web: www.Flame.asia
About the Mekong Mini Movie Festival
The Mekong Minis is a unique film festival that celebrates the many faces and experiences of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) and promotes the region as a single tourist destination. It is an annual regional tourism marketing campaign with its first instance in 2018, supported by all Tourism Ministries and the private sector in the GMS. The festival is targeted to attract amateur and professional movie makers and create a large amount of content for the region with promotions and screenings internationally. The Mekong Mini Movie Festival campaign is powered by Mekong Moments at www.MekongMoments.com/Minis or www.MekongMinis.com.
About the Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office
The Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office (MTCO), located in Bangkok, was set up with funding from the governments of the six Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) countries – Cambodia, the People’s Republic of China, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand, and Viet Nam. The MTCO, which operates on annual financial contributions from each GMS country, acts as the secretariat for the GMS Tourism Working Group, comprising of senior officials of the six GMS countries’ National Tourism Organizations, to coordinate and facilitate sustainable tourism development of the GMS in line with the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, and promotion of the Mekong region as a single travel and tourism destination, in collaboration with the public and private sectors. The MTCO manages its award-winning MekongTourism.org digital platform as a one-stop platform to promote responsible and sustainable tourism in the region, as well as the annual Mekong Tourism Forum, whose hosting is rotated among GMS countries.
Please visit www.MekongTourism.org for more information.
About Destination Mekong
Destination Mekong was created in 2017 to promote the Mekong region, comprising of Cambodia, PR China (Provinces of Guangxi and Yunnan), Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand and Viet Nam as a single tourism destination to stimulate responsible and sustainable development and investment, and drive inclusive growth. Endorsed by the Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office and aligned with the mandate of the regional collaborative tourism framework of the six-member governments of the Greater Mekong Subregion, Destination Mekong executes targeted projects and initiatives via public-private partnership investment structures, including Mekong Moments and Mekong Trends, led by UNWTO Affiliate Member Chameleon Strategies.
Please visit www.DestinationMekong.com
