EU to Assist North Vietnam in Promoting Society Responsible Tourism

The European Union (EU) will start a project next year to assist eight northeast provinces of Vietnam in an environment and society responsible tourism (ESRT) development. The ESRT project, worth EUR11million, is the largest tourism technical assistance program in Vietnam, which has been initiated by EU. The project is based on an initiative of the Netherlands Development Organisation (SNV) to bring benefit to around 250,000 people in eight needy provinces in Vietnam. The beneficiaries are Dien Bien, Yen Bai, Son la, Hoa Binh, Phu Thu, Ha Giang, Lai Chau and Lao Cai provinces. Under the ESRT project, EU will assist the provinces in setting up a Management Board to carry out inter-regional tourism activities and build up cooperation regulations among provinces. EU will also carry out sustainable tourism development projects, and hold tourism activities among ethnic groups for special tourism destinations, aiming to meet the demand of visitors to discover and travel as well as to raise living standards for local people.  The project will also offer an opportunity for these provinces to work with tourism businesses through various tourism activities. EU is one of the biggest donors of non-refundable aid for the country’s tourism industry. The ESRT program was built based on the success of another EU-funded tourism human resources development project, which was carried out from 2004 to February 2010. (Quan Doi Nhan Dan – People’s Army Dec 28)