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.

Donor interest in this field is strong. The private sector is showing increasing interest in investing in tourism in developing countries, under a Corporate Social Responsibility agenda or as (a future) part of their core business. This phenomenon generates risks as well as opportunities to upscale the development impact of tourism for poor people.

In their strategic partnership SNV and the UNWTO recognise the potential of the tourism sector to make a contribution to poverty reduction. As partners they collaborate around a joint framework for Sustainable Tourism – Eliminating Poverty. SNV’s corporate partnership with the UNWTO can be leveraged with regional and country level partnerships.

Results
Within the scope of SNV’s collaboration with the UNWTO: 

• Sustainable Tourism - Eliminating Poverty (ST-EP) projects are set up, of which 8 were completed in 2006 and 19 in 2007. 
• In Lao PDR, Vietnam, Albania, and East and Southern Africa, government officials were equipped with tools to enhance the economic impact of tourism locally. 
• In Southern Africa, around 200 community-based accommodation providers were trained in marketing techniques and linked up to an online database. 
• Upon completion of their training, local tour guides in Cameroon and Bolivia were able to generate higher income from tourism by offering more diversified guided tours. 
• In Ethiopia, business linkages were established between eco-lodges and neighbouring communities, allowing the local people to sell various products and services to tourists

Interested? Would you like further information? Contact us at: partnerships@snvworld.org

“As we introduced the local supply concept and negotiated with the local communities and the hotels, we initially felt that our work was in vain. We felt that we were introducing an idea that both parties either didn’t believe in, or were simply pessimistic about. However, with time, there was an ‘unlocking process’ as we built confidence both with the community and the hotel. Our experience has shown that it is possible to link hotels and local communities and we plan to further introduce many hotels and new products into this project.” Morgan Siloma – Tourism Adviser Kenya