Tourism development has been allocated a prominent position in many national development strategies. However, ensuring the poverty reduction impact of tourism is less well understood by policy-makers and the private sector.

Sustainable tourism has enormous potential for poverty reduction. With relatively little capital investment, tourism can yield high levels of employment and income for the poor, particularly in rural communities where biodiversity has remained intact.

SNV works to develop pro-poor sustainable tourism by helping tourism stakeholders to develop policies and practices that contribute to poverty alleviation. We strengthen our clients’ abilities to enhance the local socio-economic impact from tourism through our services in:

• improving product quality and commercialisation in tourism destinations;
• developing market linkages and value chain development for tourism products and services; 
• mainstreaming ‘inclusive business’/pro-poor principles in private sector businesses, and 
• improving policy making and sector coordination.

Read more about our approach and about the added value of SNV’s corporate partnership with the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) 

SNV works in pro-poor sustainable tourism in Asia (Cambodia, Bhutan, Laos, Nepal, Vietnam), Europe (Albania, Macedonia, Montenegro), Africa (Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania, Zambia) and Latin America (Bolivia, Ecuador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Peru).