In Ha Giang Province in Vietnam, Helvetas is supporting local actors to develop Community-Based Tourism.
The project, which was carried out with the Center for Rural Economy Development (CRED), built the capacities of local actors - women, young people, associations, public institutions - in partnership with fair tourism providers based in Hanoi to jointly create responsible tourism offers for international and local individual tourists and in small groups. The basis was respect for the local culture and environment with a view to creating sustainable income opportunities and occupational diversity in rural areas as an alternative to agriculture or internal labor migration (especially among the younger generation). Local tourism plans were elaborated and integrated into socioeconomic development plans, thereby promoting local governance through participation, transparency and accountability.
The project, implemented from 2015-2019, is now being transferred to local public and private actors after the creation of a social enterprise. Helvetas Vietnam continues to be involved in the development of community-based tourism as part of the USAID Vietnam Biodiversity Conservation Programme led by the WWF.
