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Inthira Boosts Green Efforts in 2019
The Inthira Group of hotels and restaurants has declared 2019 as a year of sustainability and environmental conservation for the company. To kick off 2019’s green push, Inthira has joined the “Refill not Landfill” campaign, created in Siem Reap, Cambodia, to reduce plastic water bottle pollution in Asia. “Thanks to this initiative, there are now 683 water refill stations throughout Asia,” said Inthira Communication Manager Margaux Canales. “We believe all businesses can participate at their own scale to preserve the environment, and for us it starts by offering free water refills at our Khop Chai Deu restaurants in Vientiane and Thakaek.” Ms Canales said guests will soon be able to buy top quality stainless steel bottles, to participate to this campaign and change their habits for the better. “As a hospitality and tourism company, it is of great concern for us to act to preserve our beautiful environment, and it is our responsibility to influence the way tourists consume water during their travel in Laos, by taking eco-friendly initiatives, said Ms Canales. “We hope many more partners will join this global campaign in Laos, to raise awareness and act together on a global scale against plastic pollution.” She said the Refill not Landfill campaign is Inthira’s first of its 2019 rollouts of eco-friendly initiatives, with more to be undertaken throughout the year. Find all 683 refill stations in Asia at www.refillasia.com. Download the Refillmybottle app.
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Heh, Luang Prabang…Are You Happy?
Planet Happiness aims to pull Luang Prabang into its orbit, and position the World Heritage city as a global happiness leader, but they need your help. Planet Happiness measures the happiness of residents living in World Heritage sites. The non-profit aims to enhance the destination’s well-being, safeguard global heritage, and move beyond GDP as the main indicator for success. What can you do? Take the Happiness Index Survey, and encourage your friends and employees to do the same, before the official Luang Prabang launch early this year. Head to the newly updated Planet Happiness website and click the link to the Luang Prabang survey, which is available in Lao, English, and other languages. Then, register your name and take the survey to the end. Once completed and entered, you will receive a “Happiness Scorecard”. Planet Happiness collects this data, and will begin building a collective score-card for Luang Prabang and position the city as a leading site. Paul Rogers, who is a leader in the Planet Happiness initiative, recommends tuning into the online Happiness Leadership Training Webinar on 22-23 January 2019. The seminar will provide community leaders with a range of knowledge, skills and tools to use, and show how to apply the survey results in Luang Prabang. For more details on the online training webinar, click here. Mr Rogers added that a film company is planning to feature Planet Happiness in a four-part documentary about the Happiness Agenda. “Planet Happiness has been invited to join the Global Dialogue for Happiness at the World Government Summit in Dubai next month,” Mr Rogers said, and noted Planet Happiness has also been invited to UNWTO’s Asia-Pacific Commission meeting in Bhutan in June. “As we move ahead with these and other opportunities, we hope to profile Luang Prabang as one of Planet Happiness’ first and leading pilots, which we hope will help position and promote Luang Prabang to a forward looking global audience,” Mr Rogers said. Link to Happiness Survey Planet Happiness Online Training Webinar Happiness Alliance
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Mekong Tourism Launches “Mekong From Above” Campaign
Mekong From Above invites the public to capture and post their best aerial photos and videos from the six-member nation regions to showcase the beautiful life and landscapes of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) in Southeast Asia. The “Mekong From Above” aerial photo and video contest, the first of its kind in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS), provides an opportunity for amateur and professional photographers to compete by capturing aerial photos and videos of the amazing landscapes, astonishing heritage, and numerous rich traditions of the region. Aerial photos and videos can be posted on personal Instagram, Twitter and/or YouTube accounts by tagging the posts with #MekongMoments, #MekongFromAbove, and #<Country> from December 15, 2018, until March 31, 2019. Qualifying photos and videos will be aggregated via a feed into the official campaign website www.mekongfromabove.com, where public voting will determine the Public Choice Award. The Editor’s Choice Award will be determined by an expert panel of photographers, travel and tourism executives, bloggers, and media – chaired by Mr. Jaffee Yee, CEO of Knowledge Media Group Thailand (KMG), the coorganiser and initiator of the “Mekong From Above” contest. “Aerial photographs and videos with a free-ranging camera on a versatile drone afford otherwise unobtainable vistas and perspectives of the Greater Mekong Subregion’s dramatically beautiful landscape. We are excited to be partnering with Mekong Tourism to showcase these photos and videos with the world,” said Jaffee Yee. Ahead of the contest’s final result announcement in April 2019, 180 photo entries will be shortlisted and featured in a special-edition ‘Mekong From Above’ book, published by Knowledge Media Group. Additionally, select and inspiring photos, at the consent of each participant, may also be showcased in a number of regional and international exhibitions including one at the 2019 Mekong Tourism Forum in Dali, PR China from May 21-22. The “Mekong From Above” contest is the second regional visual storytelling social media campaign hosted on the award-winning Mekong Moments social commerce campaign platform. The first campaign, the 2018 Mekong Mini Movie Festival, generated over 300 eligible videos of 60 seconds or less, reached over seven million people, and is being recognised with a prestigious HSMAI Gold Award. The 2019 Mekong Mini Movie Festival will officially be launched at the ASEAN Tourism Forum on the 16th of January, 2019 in Halong, Viet Nam. This event will also be the location at which the Public Choice Winners of the 2018 Mekong Minis will be announced. Jens Thraenhart, Executive Director of the Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office and the coorganiser of the Mekong from Above campaign said: “We are excited to leverage our awardwinning and innovative Mekong Moments campaign platform, to enable any organisation to execute campaigns to showcase the amazing and inspiring experiences shared by residents and travellers alike.” “We were pleased when Knowledge Media Group approached us about launching an aerial photo and video campaign on MekongMoments.com, and we welcome any organisation to work with us on other campaigns. Our strategy is to execute a collaborative and inclusive platform enabling anybody to promote their business, their destination, and our Mekong Region via visual storytelling,” said Thraenhart. For more details on sponsorship, partnership, judging, rules & regulations and information on prizes and awards, please see www.mekongfromabove.com.
