Hanoi (VNA) - The Mekong Initiative for Startup Tourism (MIST) has beenlaunched in HCM City to boost investment and innovation in the tourism sectorin Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam.

TheMIST founders are the Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office (MTCO) and the MekongBusiness Initiative (MBI).

MTCOwill receive funding from the governments of Cambodia, China, Laos and Myanmar,as well as Thailand and Vietnam, while MBI will receive funds from the AsianDevelopment Bank and the Australian government.

InVietnam, MIST was organised with the support of the Da Nang Business Incubator(DNES). Partners of the initiative are the Seoul Global Startup Centre and theSwiss government-funded SECO Entrepreneurship Programme.

“Innovationand technologies are transforming the world’s tourism sector, but the Mekongregion has lagged behind,” Dominic Mellor, head of the MBI at the AsianDevelopment Bank, said at the launch ceremony on Friday.

“Weare eager to see the region’s startups innovate and create new avenues fortourism growth,” he said.

MTCOExecutive Director Jens Thraenhart said the Greater Mekong Subregion is amagnet for tourism, but accelerating tourist volumes to drive inclusive growthis facing many challenges.

“Theregion will need to develop and innovate if it is to sustain today’s growthover the long term,” Thraenhart said.

VoDuy Khuong, Chairman of the Da Nang Startup Network Coordinating Council andDNES, affirmed, “Tourism is a major industry in Da Nang, and the startupcouncil is committed to fostering startups and promoting innovative approachesand solutions for sustainable growth in the industry.”

MISTwill work with local tourism industry players to identify critical industrychallenges and bottlenecks. The programme will then solicit solutions fromglobal experienced innovators, encourage exchanges between global providers andlocal startups and organise competitions among startup teams.

Thefirst tourism startup contest will be held in Da Nang early next year.

MISThas invited startups, particularly those led by local men and women, toparticipate in a contest to develop solutions for identified tourism marketopportunities. The winners will be matched with suitable investors.

Thebest startup teams from across the four countries will be invited to anintensive boot camp and Demo Day at the 2017 Mekong Tourism Forum in LuangPrabang in Laos. The best Vietnamese startups will be invited to a Demo Day atthe APEC Investment Summit in November 2017 in Da Nang.

MBIis an advisory facility supported by the Asian Development Bank and thegovernment of Australia, promoting private-sector development in Cambodia,Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam. It fosters the development of ecosystem innovationby supporting angel investments, business incubation, and technologycommercialisation.

MTCOwas established in early 2006 and is a collaborative effort between the sixcountries of the Greater Mekong Sub-Region (GMS): Cambodia, China (specificallythe provinces of Yunnan and Guangxi), Laos and Myanmar, as well as Thailand andVietnam.

Themission of MTCO is to help GMS National Tourism Organisations develop andpromote the Mekong as a single travel destination, offering a diverse range ofgood quality and high-yielding sub-regional products; adding to the tourismdevelopment efforts of each GMS destination; contributing to poverty reduction,gender equality and the empowerment of women; and minimising any adverseimpacts of tourism through sustainable development activities./.