BANGKOK, 6 January 2026: The Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office (MTCO) is recruiting a “new Executive Director” to lead regional tourism cooperation and drive implementation of the GMS Tourism Strategy 2030.
The search for a new Executive Director went public in December via a brief statement and a link to the Terms of Reference. They indicate that the successful candidate, hired under a two-year consultancy contract, will earn a monthly fee of USD4,800 plus work-related travel expenses.
There’s a clause that extends the consultancy for a second two-year term based on KPIs
The MTCO was established in 2006 by the six governments of the Greater Mekong Sub-region — Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam.
Applications must be filed by email to the MTCO no later than 1700 Bangkok time on 8 January. All nationalities can apply, but “GMS citizens, and women are strongly encouraged.”
Read the full TOR: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SIZITn3i04mnddaV3OVDMBcRN16Nv0__/view?usp=sharing
TTRW filed questions with the spokesperson for the GMS Tourism Working Group, who noted “we cannot confirm whether the current Executive Director will be applying, as that remains her personal decision to make before the deadline.”
The incumbent Executive Director, Dee Suvimol, completes her second term this March. She declined to comment.
However, the GMS Tourism Working Group says it will announce the appointment of the new Executive Director in mid-March, following online interviews with shortlisted candidates in February.
The Bangkok-based Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office (MTCO) leads the organisation’s overall management and coordinates regional public- and private-sector tourism marketing and development initiatives in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS).
For more information about MTCO, visit www.mekongtourism.org.
“The Executive Director’s primary objective is to provide specialised knowledge to support secretariat functions of the GMS TWG and MTCO Board, including organising TWG/MTCO Board meetings and the annual Mekong Tourism Forum,” the ToR states. “The secondary objective is to coordinate andfacilitate the implementation of GMS Tourism Strategy, the GMS Tourism Marketing Action Plan, and other regional tourism initiatives as directed by the MTCO Board.”
(Source: MTCO and TTRW additional reporting)
