Representatives of ten international sponsors took part in a roundtable meeting in Hanoi on January 28 to discuss their coordination in support of responsible tourism in Vietnam.

The EU-funded capacity development programme for environmentally and socially responsible tourism in Vietnam (EU-ESRT) initiated the talks.

The round table meeting provided an opportunity for effective coordination among these groups.

Participants reached agreement on prioritises of the tourism sections, the roles and responsibilities of each donor and a collaborative mechanism to avoid an overlap among activities and resources.

Their consensus is expected to ensure that their shared objectives will be sustainably achievable.

Nguyen Van Tuan, Chairman of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, said that strong assistance from international and regional organisations, particularly effective technical support from the EU, has stimulated the development and progress of the local tourism industry.

This support has contributed to facilitating the country’s implementation of its tourism development strategy for the 2001 – 2010 period, and now for 2011 – 2020, he added.

According to Tom Corrie, Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to Vietnam’s Cooperation and Development Section, as the largest tourism donor in Vietnam over the past 12 years, the EU has thus far sponsored more than 20 million EUR for the country to build capacities, organise training courses and improve service quality.

Apart from the EU-ESRT, other foreign-funded tourism initiatives in Vietnam include a programme supporting the Initiative for ASEAN Integration sponsored by the Germany Agency for Technical Cooperation, a project to develop tourism in Quang Nam and Thua Thien - Hue provinces by UNESCO, and the Ha Long Bay Alliance – a programme run by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.

VNA