Promoting Creative Industry for Heritage Tourism Development in the Mekong Region (Creative4Mekong)

There a noticeable disconnection between newer generations of tourists and heritage sites,resulting in a lower proportion of overall visitors to Mekong heritage sites. This demographic tends to be older and spends less per day compared to the average tourist. The lack of appeal among younger travelers is evident, as cultural artifacts may seem remote and disconnected from their interests. To remedy this, a digital connection is essential to breathe life into these artifacts, reigniting interest in history, and potentially prolonging their stay, thus increasing tourist numbers.The limited capacity of heritage site management authorities and public institutions in most Mekong countries poses challenges in complying with UNESCO heritage site standards, which necessitate continuous upgrading of knowledge and skills. Furthermore, declining ticket sales jeopardize the ability of these tourist sites to finance the costly maintenance and operations required to preserve their valuable heritage status.To address these issues, the Mekong Institute is implementing a project titled "Promoting Creative Industry for Heritage Tourism Development in the Mekong Region" from March 2024- February 2027. Funded by the Mekong – ROK Cooperation Fund (MKCF), the project focuses on strengthening creative industries, cultural heritage conservation, and tourism development for socio-economic recovery in five World Heritage Sites in five Mekong Countries namely Siem Reap (Cambodia), Luang Prabang (Laos), Bagan (Myanmar), Ayutthaya(Thailand) and Hue (Viet Nam). Read more...