Viet Nam’s Ministry of Culture, Sports, & Tourism and The UN Tourism held the 1st UN Tourism Conference on Tourism for Rural Development In Hoi An on December 9-11, 2024
The conference highlighted the importance of tourism in rural development and asked for tourism to be included in development budget and infrastructure planning.
Who’s Attending The Conference
Besides the senior officials from Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and UN Tourism, The meeting also attended by Viet Nam’s big names:
- Nguyen Van Hung, Minister of Culture, Sports, and Tourism
- Luong Nguyen Minh Triet, Secretary of the Quang Nam Provincial Party Committee
- Nguyen Trung Khanh, Chairman of the Viet Nam National Authority of Tourism
Besides Viet Nam’s big names and other countries’ representatives, the conference also attended by organizations such as Asian Development Bank (ADB), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Mekong Tourism, Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), Fliggy, Intrepid Travel, Japan Travel Bureau (JTB), Meta, Planeterra, Traveloka which shared their expertise on rural tourism.
Program
This event consists of three main programs. The first one is The 1st UN Tourism Conference on Tourism for Rural Development, with 300 delegates from 15 countries.
The conference also featured the 2nd Annual Meeting of the Best Tourism Villages by UNWTO, where 50 representatives from over 30 villages gathered in Viet Nam to review the Network’s progress and develop a strategic framework for its future development.
The other one is announcing Tra Que Vegetable village in Viet Nam as the 2024 best tourism village, including a special presentation and local tour around the tourism village.
The Objective
Zoritsa Urosevic, Executive Director of UN Tourism, said that since 2021, the Best Tourism Village Network has grown to 254 villages from 59 countries.
During the discussion, Sandra Carvão, Director of Market Intelligence, Policy and Competitiveness, UN Tourism also mentioned that tourism can be of strong inclusion practices, empowerment, preservation of cultural heritage, as well as innovation and sustainable development.
The conference highlighted the need for collaboration among different sectors to make tourism not just economically beneficial but also environmentally and culturally heritage.
The panels discussed innovative ways to use rural tourism for sustainable development. This included:
- Government policies
- Infrastructure
- Partnership to empower local community
The conference highlighted several key elements for rural tourism development:
- Infrastructure Community-led
- Local economy empowerment
- Tourism-agriculture integration
- Storytelling and cultural preservation
- Youth empowerment
- Product diversification
- Market connection
- Digital technology
The Importance of Global Collaboration
According to various sources, successful rural tourism development relies heavily on international cooperation. This collaboration encompasses various aspects, from economic benefits and improved infrastructure to enhanced marketing and the sharing of cultural knowledge. For an example:
- While tourism villages benefit from new attractions like foreign food and goods, they also contribute to cultural exchange by promoting traditional arts from other countries.
- International collaboration in the development of tourism facilities or infrastructure allows for a various exchange of knowledge. This allows for new innovations that haven't been implemented before in a country.
- Investment from foreign companies in the form of sponsorship to tourism villages probably became an effective indirect marketing to increase brand popularity in the global market. This type of support includes accommodation, public facilities and infrastructure plans.
