The European Union (EU) will provide 11 million EUR for a five-yearenvironment and society responsible tourism (ESRT) development programmein Vietnam .

A ceremony to announce the financeagreement for the country’s largest tourism technical assistanceproject was organised in Hanoi on Jan. 14 in the presence ofVietnamese Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Ho Anh Tuan,and Head of the EU Delegation to Vietnam, Ambassador Sean Doyle.

The Vietnamese Government will contribute around 1 million EUR to theprogramme that will be carried out by the Vietnam NationalAdministration of Tourism (VNAT).

The project isdesigned to step up the provision of ESRT services during the 2011-2015period, thereby supporting the implementation of the Vietnam TourismDevelopment Strategy.

It will focus on buildingpolicy and institutions, improving competitiveness and public-privatepartnership, and promoting education and vocational training.

Officials of VNAT, provincial-level tourism managers, associations,civil organisations and communities will benefit from the programme.

EU is one of the biggest donors of non-refundable aid for thecountry’s tourism sector. The ESRT programme was built based on thesuccess of another EU-funded tourism human resources developmentproject, which was carried out from 2004 to February 2010./.