Vietnam is an important tourist destination with enormous growth potential. According to estimates by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), the country will soon be one of the top ten major tourist destinations worldwide.

The development of the country's tourism industry is one of the most important goals of the Vietnamese government. The government's declared goal is to promote environmentally and socially responsible tourism.

The EU supports the country in its efforts within the framework of the project "Environmentally and Socially Responsible Tourism (ESRT) Capacity Development Programme". The project is a development scheme to strengthen key players in the tourism industry in Vietnam and is managed by an international consortium led by GOPA from 2011 - 2015.

As a key expert, Kai Partale is responsible for sector coordination. He was selected and recruited into the project due to his expertise in HRD, sustainability, destination marketing management and master planning.

The overall objectives of the programme are to strengthen Vietnam's tourism competitiveness and to support the government in promoting environmentally and socially sustainable tourism. These objectives are concretised through three components: (1) policy support and strengthening of institutions and organisations, (2) product competitiveness and public-private dialogue and (3) vocational training in the tourism sector.

In all three components, national and international short-term experts in tourism research, training and consultancy will be deployed on an ongoing basis.