The ongoing tourism rebound across the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) remains fragile, and recent disruptions have made that clear.
In Thailand, the March 2025 Bangkok earthquake had a measurable impact on tourism revenues. And in Central Viet Nam, severe late-year flooding caused significant damage across the region.
And that’s not even counting major unpredictable events in the recent past, like COVID-19. “No one imagined the tourism industry would be closed for more than a year during the pandemic,” recalls industry consultant Steven Schipani. “While that was hopefully a once-in-a-lifetime event, we don’t know.”
Building resilience before the shock
Events like these – both semi-predictable and completely unpredictable – highlight the importance of crisis planning and preparedness in ensuring tourism resilience in the Mekong region, according to the stakeholders we’ve interviewed over the past few years.
Specialists like Trang Nguyen, Senior Consultant for Sustainable Tourism Development at Clickable Impact, place great emphasis on “identifying and mitigating risks associated with sustainability issues.” By proactively planning against such risks, Trang advises, “companies safeguard their long-term viability and resilience in the face of evolving sustainability challenges.”
Steven Schipani, for his part, points to four key factors that should underpin resilience planning in tourism destinations.
- Diversification. Planning for this takes place at two levels: widening destination marketing beyond a single source market, and reducing overreliance on tourism as the sole economic driver. “Don’t rely too heavily on one group,” he advises. “Diversification beyond tourism is equally important; if a shock hits, a varied economy is more resilient.”
This factor may have helped EXO Travel Laos survive the COVID-era business crash. The agency pivoted quickly from serving inbound tourists to locals and Lao PDR-based expats, “thanks to our strong relationship with our partners throughout the country,” explains EXO Travel Laos Managing Director Duangmala Phommavong.
“This format worked extremely well, and even if our margins were very low, it allowed our team to remain active and partners to stay afloat,” Duangmala tells us.
- Zoning. Schipani advises “avoiding development in disaster-prone areas – and investing in infrastructure that can withstand shocks.”
As an example of the latter, Oxalis Adventure worked with Tân Hoá village authorities to invest $7,000 per household in transforming floating houses into weather-adaptive homestays that can withstand annual flooding.
- Funding. Response plans must include a funding component, Schipani says. “Tourism generates both private and public revenue; some of that should be set aside for disaster preparedness and recovery,” he explains.
“Tourists are often willing to pay environmental or other fees that support resilience. Governments can play a role by levying such fees, but must also deliver clean, green, well-managed destinations to maintain a virtuous cycle of growth and reinvestment.”
- Human resources. Finally, Schipani advises “strengthening the natural and human resources that underpin tourism, through upskilling and training – so they can be effective stewards of a more resilient industry.”
This isn’t necessarily limited to tourism professionals – Trees4All upskills its partner farmers to help in reforestation projects, providing training in tree growth measurement and digital reporting using scientific apps.
At the community level, institutions like Women’s Savings Groups (WSGs) can enhance economic resilience for villages that are most vulnerable to shock. WSGs championed by Myanmar Institute for Integrated Development (MIID) “have evolved into self-sustaining financial networks, where experienced members share their knowledge and best practices with newly formed WSGs, expanding the model organically,” explains MIID Program Director Zaw Min Naing.
and Rain Bridge in Sanjiang County, a popular tourist attraction in North Guangxi, China
Evidence over instinct
Intuition alone is no longer sufficient to guide decision-making in these areas; tourism stakeholders hold data in high regard for planning against disruption.
Analytics businesses like the Outbox Company offer data-driven market intelligence solutions that can help destinations and businesses smarter, more effective decisions. “Some of our market research projects aim to identify weaknesses such as dependence on international visitors or a limited variety of tourism products,” explains Outbox co-founder and CEO Phuoc Dang.
“This essential knowledge allows destinations to diversify their offerings, significantly lowering the risk of single-point failures.”
Even online Travel Agencies (OTAs) like Agoda provide necessary intelligence to partner governments to better understand the challenges ahead. “We do a lot of work helping [governments] make data-informed decisions so that they can understand [tourism] trends,” explains Daniel Wu, Head of Global Government Affairs at Agoda. “How can we help transform trends into an actual opportunity for growth?”
Planning for what comes next
Climate change and other global shocks will only come faster and from more directions than before. In this volatile environment, tourism resilience in the Mekong will be shaped by decisions made well before disruption hits.
Tourism stakeholders are now treating crisis preparedness as everyday destination management, not just a reactive response tool pulled out after damage is done. They’re making more considered choices about financing, data use and other factors. They’re also accepting uncertainty as a permanent condition rather than an exception.
As shocks become more frequent and less predictable, the ability to plan ahead will play a decisive role in how well destinations adapt and recover over time.
