Vietnam Tourism Advisory Board to enable public private dialogue and partnership

The Vietnam Tourism Advisory Board (TAB) was firstly discussed in the wake of the 2008 global financial crisis when international arrivals to Vietnam slumped dramatically. This prompted several key industry stakeholders to come together to propose to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) that they work with the private sector more closely, and so in 2012 the TAB was officially launched.

The establishment of the TAB, within the EU-Environmentally Socially Responsible Tourism Capacity Development (ESRT) Programme, which is managed by GOPA GmbH, is an initiative to promote communication, information and the sharing of knowledge between tourism businesses and government administration agencies. It is also aimed at providing support for the tourism industry in overcoming challenges during development.

The TAB’s main objective is to enhance Vietnam tourism business efficiency and competitiveness against other nations in the region. TAB will also provide consultancy for the VNAT and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on sustainable tourism development issues. Through the framework of a public-private partnership, industry leaders and governmental officials will be able to leverage the resources of all stakeholders, enhancing Vietnam’s competitive advantage and promoting sustainable best practices in the industry.

Given the mandate of the TAB in the areas of product development and marketing, human resource development and policy advocacy in the tourism sector, working group proposals shall be presented in meetings and followed-up with in order to support VNAT in steering tourism development and bring industry problems to solutions. The working groups are led by members of the TAB in partnership with officials from VNAT.