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), organised a Brainstorming Workshop towards an APEC Green Road: Promoting Responsible and Sustainable Tourism in MSMEs on 3 – 6 September 2018 in Chiang Mai, Thailand.  The workshop was attended by representatives from 11 APEC member economies including China, Chile, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Russia, Thailand and Viet Nam, as well as from related international organizations and the prominent private companies including APEC Policy Support Unit (PSU), Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC), Asian Ecotourism Network (AEN), Organisation for Economic Co - operation and Development (OECD), and Booking.com.

          The workshop discussed experiences and best practices for promotion of responsible and sustainable tourism in MSMEs. There was broad consensus that ‘green tourism’ has the potential for futher expansion, with younger generations of tourists, both from Western countries and, increasingly, from Asia becoming more conscious of the environmental impact of tourism, and increasing demand ‘authentic’ cultural experiences.   It was estimated that these tourists were willing to pay premium for the ‘green tourism’ experience.

          As part of the workshop, the Thai hosts took APEC participants to visit several pioneering eco - friendly tourist destinations located in Chiang Mai. These include POOPOOPaperPark that introduces the unique steps involved in making paper products from elephant poop fibers; Elephant Nature Park, a sanctuary and rescue centre for elephants; and Lisu Lodge, which is located in the Learning Centre for Sustainable Agricultural Development within the area of Lisu hill tribe village.

          The policy recommendations of the brainstorming session will be presented to the APEC SME Working Group meeting, to be held on 12 - 13 September 2018, and to the APEC leaders in November 2018 in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. The workshop was an implementation of the APEC Strategy for Green, Sustainable and Innovative MSMEs, adopted in 2017, which Thailand played a prominent role. It is hoped that the theme of an “APEC Green Road” will be further taken up and expanded, to seamlessly connect green businesses in the Asia - Pacific Region by 2022, when Thailand will be the host economy of APEC.