Over the past year, SNV has been working closely with the ODI Tourism Programme, together with like-minded donor agencies, NGOs and other organisations in exploring innovative ways to link poor people to the benefits of sustainable tourism development. Recently, at the invitation of ODI (Overseas Development Institute), SNV shared its experience in pro-poor sustainable tourism at the international conference entitled “Pathways to Prosperity? Mainstreaming pro-poor approaches in tourism”.

The conference took place in London and was attended by tourism and development experts around the world, who gathered together with an aim to make tourism work for the poor.

SNV Asia presented its experience introducing the example of the Luang Prabang case study. SNV has been working in Luang Prabang for six years with the Provincial Tourism Office to promote community tourism and eco-tourism, with a pro-poor focus. To review SNV's activity and to know whether mainstream tourism might offer more opportunities to help poor people, a tourism value chain analysis took place in May 2006, with the following key findings: 

• Revenues from semi-skilled and un-skilled labour accounted for 27% of total tourism expenditure 
• Up to half of the earnings of the poor came from the food supply chain 
• Income from handicraft plays an important role, particularly in benefiting minority groups 
• Aside from the supply chains, most benefits are concentrated around Luang Prabang town

SNV’s Luang Prabang experience could be translated into strategic interventions as follows: 

• Food chain – collaboration between tourism & market access advisors 
• Strengthen backward linkages from restaurants and hotels 
• Tourism-agriculture collaboration to develop riverweed value chain as a ‘learning experience’ 
• Product development of ‘Lane Xang Heritage food’ as a speciality food and event 
• Analysis & development of excursions value chain and rural product offer 
• If found feasible, silk supply for the handicraft sector
  SNV presented the case in the conference’s session “In what ways do the poor participate in the tourist economy?”. The session was jointly conducted by Caroline Ashley (ODI), John Hummel (SNV) and Jonathan Mitchell (ODI).

Over the past year, SNV has been working closely with the ODI Tourism Programme, together with like-minded donor agencies, NGOs and other organisations, in exploring innovative ways to link poor people to the benefits of sustainable tourism development.