Jens Thraenhart will be stepping down as executive director of Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office (MTCO), as he has resigned from the position, effective March 16.
“I am stepping down from the MTCO for personal reasons. After seven years in office, I want to more broadly expand my efforts to promote responsible tourism development beyond the Greater Mekong Subregion. The time is right to put into action what I have learned.”
He added, "While we have made tremendous progress in promoting the Greater Mekong Subregion as a single tourism destination, external factors make it increasingly difficult to do my job and carry out the mandate of the MTCO."
The announcement of Thraenhart's departure from MTCO, which is the secretariat of the GMS Tourism Working Group and is owned and funded by the six governments of the Greater Mekong Subregion — Cambodia, Laos, China, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam — comes as turmoil rocks Myanmar over the recent military coup.
Thraenhart leaves after serving three and a half two-year terms since June 2014 — the longest serving incumbent in MTCO. Prior to this, he was the strategic advisor to the previous executive director.
Looking back on seven years, Thraenhart extended his thanks to "the six governments of the Greater Mekong Subregion for their trust and confidence placed in me in heading the prestigious and pioneering Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office. I am proud of what we have achieved. I am deeply honoured to have served the tourism stakeholders of the Greater Mekong Subregion".
The executive director is credited with enhancing MTCO's digital offerings, including MekongTourism.org and its social media presence as well as the annual Destination Mekong Summit.
Another highlight on his portfolio is the creation of the private sector framework, Destination Mekong, which develops and executes various tourism initiatives such as the Mekong Moments and Mekong Mini Movie Festival campaigns, the Experience Mekong Collection, Mekong Heroes, Mekong Trends, and the Mekong Innovations in Sustainable Tourism (MIST) programme.