The ST4SD is funded by the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO).
The project has been proposed at an important time for Vietnam's tourism industry, following the approval of the Vietnam Tourism Development Strategy and the Vietnam Tourism Marketing Strategy until 2030. In addition, the project can also help address the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on Vietnam's tourism industry.
The ST4SD project will strengthen the sustainability and inclusiveness of Vietnam's tourism industry through 3 outcomes. Outcome 1: Supporting national policy makers to foster sustainable tourism – National and subnational action plans, master plans and other policies. Outcome 2: Vietnamese training institutions have been strengthened to provide training and develop skills and expertise in hospitality industry. Outcome 3: Tourist destinations and companies have become more sustainable in their operation and investments.
At the Consultation meeting for the Development of Project Documents “Swiss tourism for sustainable development in Vietnam” held in Ha Long City, Quang Ninh Province, on June 26, VNAT Deputy Director General Ha Van Sieu welcomed the Swiss Government's decision to support Vietnam tourism industry through the ST4SD. He emphasised that this support was timely in the context that Vietnam's tourism industry is trying to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Switzerland has the developed and famous tourism industry in the world. The country owns many similar landscapes and tourism resources to Vietnam, such as mountain tourism and rural tourism. Tourism training institutions in Switzerland are known to be prestigious vocational skills training schools in fields of hospitality management, restaurant management and food processing, travel, and tourism.
Therefore, the VNAT’s Deputy Director General expects that with the sponsorship of the Swiss Government, the advanced tourism development and management experience, high training level will be transferred to the Vietnam tourism industry.
Box: The ST4SD project has the goal of supporting national and subnational action plans, master plans and other policies to foster sustainable tourism development. Through the project, businesses and local people directly engaged in tourism have the opportunity to raise awareness, build capacity, and change behaviour in protecting, managing, and contributing to the development of a more diverse ecological environment. The project also focuses on developing business models and sustainable tourism products. As such, the project aims to develop sustainable, comprehensive, circular tourism associated with nature conservation and improving livelihoods.
The project is in the launching stage, developing and finalizing project documents to submit to competent authorities.
Therefore, to achieve maximum efficiency for the tourism industry and beneficiaries, Ha Van Sieu suggested that the members of the Working Group, representatives of departments under the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, local tourism management departments, and experts in the field of tourism actively discuss and contribute to the development of project documents.
