Lao: New Zealand backs community based tourism

The government of New Zealand is furthering assistance to Laos for community-based tourism development, focusing on the provinces of Luang Namtha, Xieng Khuang, Borikhamxay and Khammuan.The programme was launched at the Mercure Hotel in Vientiane yesterday and will be implemented by the Lao National Tourism Administration (LNTA) and provincial tourism departments.

The New Zealand Embassy to Laos has provided a grant of more than US$3.3 million for the project, which will be carried out from 2011 to 2013. The project will focus on community-based tourism including homestays, and establishing and supplying tourism products in the four provinces.

The LNTA’s departments will also receive assistance in tourism strategy development, tourism site arrangement, advertising and equipment development, tourism market analysis, meeting Asean standards of transport and travel, tourism investment, and creating a manual on hotel rankings.The tourism development project continuation stems from the success of the Nam Ha Ecotourism Project in Luang Namtha (1999 to 2008), a model for ecotourism development.

“Support for this project is one of the main examples of aid provided by the government of New Zealand. The recent and successful Nam Ha Ecotourism Project was recognised internationally and received several international awards,” LNTA Chairman Somphong Mongkhonvilay said at the launch ceremony.

New Zealand has supported the successful development of the tourism sector in Laos for more than 10 years with about US$2.5 million. This assistance includes the Nam Ha Ecotourism Project and the more recent project, “Fighting Poverty at the Plain of Jars”, which was completed last year.

Mr Somphong said the special ecotourism products of Laos, the pristine and unspoiled natural environment and the local way of life, attract tourists to the country. The Lao government places ecotourism high on its development agenda.

“The Lao government through LNTA is working hard to establish a sustainable ecotourism industry that can help attract tourists, generate economic growth and alleviate poverty while protecting the natural and cultural resources that make Laos such a special place,” he said.

According to statistics from 1991 to 2010, tourist arrivals in Laos grew an average of 26 percent, from 40,000 arrivals in 1991 to 2.5 million in 2010, and generated over US$381 million, an increase of about 25 percent from 2009.

“The new assistance will sustain and build on the achievements of the earlier support,” said New Zealand Ambassador to Laos Bede Corry.“New Zealand’s continued support for the tourism sector reflects its commitment to working with the Lao government and people to achieve their goal of removing themselves from least developed country status by 2020 through sustainable development.”

Source = laovoices