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 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,” said PATA CEO Dr. Mario Hardy. “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.”
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.
For more information about the Mekong Mini Movie Festival and its conditions, please visit www.mekongmoments.com/minis/
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