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SUSTAINABILITY
STEP BY STEP TO A
LASTING LAOS Sustainability is easier than you think TEXT & PHOTOGRAPHS BY SUSTOUR LAOS
above: The Consultation Workshop on Improving the Cultural Excursion throughout the Tourism Supply Chain in Luang Prabang right: Hotel businesses in Luang Prabang learned about Travelife and learned how to apply this in their organizations.
T
he SUSTOUR Laos project, funded by the European Union and implemented by Plan International Laos in cooperation with the Department of Trade Promotion of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce (MoIC), the Lao National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LNCCI), and the European Centre for Ecological and Agricultural Tourism (ECEAT), recently held introductory training of the Travelife certification programme for tourism businesses which attracted more than 50 tour operators, travel agencies, and accommodation businesses in Vienti-
ane Capital, Vientiane Province, and Luang Prabang Province. The training aims to enable tourism businesses to orient their business in the direction of sustainable tourism. As a result of this training, participating businesses have gained knowledge about the Travelife certification process, trends in sustainable tourism, and how to improve their operations to make their businesses more environmental-friendly and attractive to responsible tourists. The next steps of the SUSTOUR project will focus on coaching tourism businesses in compliance with Travelife standards in order to be certified as sustainable business leaders in Laos. Travel agents, tour operators, and accommodations that are interested in participating in the Travelife programme can contact the project through the project Facebook page at www.facebook. com/lastinglao.
