Experts: Heritage conservation key to sustainable tourism development

Representatives of tourism agencies and organizations of differentcountries shared lessons about sustainable tourism development on thefinal day of the Mekong Tourism Forum 2015 in Danang last week.

The UNESCO has recognized various natural heritages and sites of greatcultural value in the GMS, which groups Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar,Thailand, Vietnam and China’s Yunnan and Quangxi provinces, heard theforum. This region has attracted a large number of tourists andinvestors.

Le Khanh Hai, Vietnamese deputy minister of Culture, Sports andTourism, told the forum that with natural and cultural wonders, the GMSis expected to woo more than 70 million visitors and post tourismrevenue of nearly US$90 billion in 2020 compared to the current US$60billion.

To realize the numbers, the region should develop unique and diversetourism products, intensify marketing and spend more on infrastructureto meet rising demand of both tourists and investors.

Hai called for institutions including the Asian Development Bank toprovide more financial and technical support for the region,particularly small and medium enterprises, to contribute more to tourismdevelopment.

Delegates at the forum urged concerted efforts to protect and preserveheritages, especially the structures along the Mekong River, as this isone of the important elements that help the region ensure sustainabletourism development. However, the region is facing a lot of challenges.

Peter Semone, technical adviser to the Lao Academy of Tourism, pointedout overexploiting the Mekong River is a major challenge to the region.It is important for governments to cooperate in making the most of theGMS and at the same time conserving original heritages and culturalsites in the region.

Semone said the region is diverse in terms of culture and naturalheritages, has rich soil and is a living museum of the world. “We needto turn this region into an attractive destination of the world and aplace to discover wonders,” he said.

However, the GMS is coping with fierce competition, not only amongnations of the region but also with other regions. One of the biggestchallenges is that the region is losing many cultural values andheritages.     

A lack of skilled workers and infrastructure is among the majorchallenges for sustainable tourism development in the region. Manyinvestors have complained it is difficult for them to recruit qualifiedemployees and implement tourism projects.

Experts: Heritage conservation key to sustainable tourism development

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