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Lao tourism enterprises, government officials, and donor development agencies agreed to join hands to establish working groups for marketing and human resource development (HRD) with the aim of forging public-private sector partnerships (PPPs) to boost the nation’s tourism industry.
The 50-some invited attendees unanimously agreed to form the working groups during the 6th Lanith Quarterly Symposium held in association with the German Development Cooperation (GIZ) on 23 March at Vientiane’s Lao Plaza hotel.
Symposium panellist, Oudet Souvannavong, founder of the 17-year-old Lao Hotel and Restaurant Association and owner of Best Western Vientiane, will take the helm of the marketing working group, and will coordinate with Lao Tourism Marketing Board (LTMB) Advisor Kirsten Focken representing GIZ.
Their first goal is to pinpoint the early steps needed to organise all stakeholders to collectively market Laos.
Another panellist, Inthy Deuansavan, the managing director of Laos’ leading domestic tour operator, Green Discovery, will oversee the HRD working group with support from Lanith Chief Technical Advisor Peter Semone representing Luxembourg Development.
Their initial aim is to identify key HRD issues and the best direction for the industry to take to advance service quality.
The two-hour event’s moderator Mr Semone kicked off the symposium, themed “Partnerships for Tourism Development” by telling attendees, “I asked our three speakers and four panellists to focus on solutions and instigate the audience into participating in the discussion, even if what the speaker says is contentious.”
He stated. “We need to come together in a synchronised partnership, and Lanith joining with GIZ to organise this symposium hopes to set an example.”
Keynote speaker Bert van Walbeek, from the Bangkok-based tourism consultancy firm, The Winning Edge, presented “Towards Target 2020”, and he questioned whether Laos will be ready to handle the number of visitors needed to reach the billion-dollar tourism revenue goal.
Mr van Walbeek suggested a demand-led marketing approach that seeks to raise visitors’ average daily spend, which requires cooperation in destination marketing, especially among the private sector.
Lao Tourism Marketing Board (LTMB) Advisor Kirsten Focken, whose position is funded by GIZ, then presented a case study, during which she agreed that more focus is needed on attracting the higher-spending long-haul market, and she called for a “collective marketing” approach in which stakeholders pool their resources.
Ms Focken compared Laos’ small display at major global trade event, ITB Berlin, to the much larger exhibitions from deeper-pocketed neighbours, Myanmar and Vietnam, and concluded, “We must maximize the private sector’s involvement and advice to better promote Laos…and this requires a strategy that uses collective marketing.”
Professor Tom Baum from Scotland’s University of Strathclyde, the world’s leading authority on tourism and hospitality HRD and author of “Achieving Service Quality through People” based on Lanith’s (Lao National Institute of Tourism and Hospitality) research, presented his case study, “The Current State of Play” based on his previous two visits to Laos.
“Tourism education presents diverse and complex challenges…and no one alone can solve the problems. Partnership has to be the keyword.”
Professor Baum added, “Lanith is taking the first step in creating a partnership model…If it works, it will be a global first, but it demands responsibility from the private sector, as they play a vital role in the education and training process.”
Lanith’s “Passport to Success” skills training programme recently won the Pacific Asia Travel Association’s 2012 Grand Award for Education and Training.
During the panel session, “Making Partnerships Work for Lao Tourism”, Mr Semone challenged the audience. “Let’s walk away with something tangible. We need one idea…What can we easily accomplish in two-to-four months? The development partners are ready to help. Tell us what you want us to do.”
Panellist Armin Hofmann, GIZ Director in Laos, agreed, and suggested, “We need a more systematic alliance to avoid fragmentation. Whatever we do must be done in a systematic way.” Mr Hofmann then called for a meeting of like-minded people.
Ms Focken concurred, especially since the country will be hosting the ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF) with its TRAVEX trade exhibition in January 2013.
“We need to get together and talk about what we are going to do for ATF,” Ms Fokken stressed.
Mr Deuansavan noted, “Marketing on a small scale is easy, but it takes a large-scale effort to promote a destination. To compete, we need the private sector to get together.”
The attendees also proposed solutions including internships at businesses for tourism teachers lacking practical experience, tour operators and hotels teaming to market Lao tourism rather than relying on the government, and forming a multi-donor advisory panel.
Long-time Lao resident Steven Schipani, a panellist representing the Asian Development Bank (ADB) then offered to create and present a policy paper for approval that would commit the ADB to assist Laos in marketing ATF, and write an expression of interest for supporting PPPs “if you (attendees) show you are serious.”
Mr Semone concluded the symposium by making a motion to establish the two working groups with Mr Deuansavan and Mr Souvannavong as their leaders. After the motion passed it was agreed the working groups would meet shortly after April’s Lao New Year, and all interested parties are invited to attend.
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