The Department of International Economic Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, in collaboration with the Office of Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion (OSMEP) and the Designated Areas for Sustainable Tourism Administration (DASTA), is co-organising a Brainstorming Workshop towards an APEC Green Road: Promoting Responsible and Sustainable Tourism in MSMEs during 3 – 6 September 2018 in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

          Participants from APEC member economies will have the opportunity to exchange views, experience and best practices with experts from related international organisations and the private sector, including Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and Booking.com.

          In addition, APEC participants and speakers will visit eco-friendly and sustainable tourist destinations located in Chiang Mai. These include POOPOOPaperPark, a company specialising in making paper products from fibre found in elephant excrement; Elephant Nature Park; and Lisu Lodge, which is located within the Learning Centre for Sustainable Agricultural Development in Lisu hill tribe village. Policy recommendations deriving from the outcomes of the brainstorming workshop and technical visit will be presented at the APEC SME Working Group meeting to be held during 12 - 13 September 2018 in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea.

          This event is a concrete implementation of the APEC Strategy for Green, Sustainable and Innovative MSMEs, which was adopted by APEC Ministers in 2017. It is also a pilot activity leading to the establishment of an “APEC Green Road”, which will seamlessly connect green businesses in the Asia - Pacific Region by 2022.