The document discusses public-private partnerships (PPPs) for strategic implementation of tourism in the CLMV region, emphasizing their role in economic development, sustainability, and cultural heritage preservation. It highlights various case studies demonstrating successful PPP initiatives in countries like Saudi Arabia, Myanmar, and Samoa, which illustrate objectives like business competitiveness, economic sustainability, and environmental conservation. The findings underscore the importance of collaboration among government, private entities, and communities in achieving tourism growth and addressing challenges such as climate change.

1. Public Sector Capacity Building for Strategic Implementation of
Tourism Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) in the CLMV region.
Vientiane, Lao PDR. 3 – 5 May, 2017
PPP for tourism growth and development
in developing countries.
Steve Noakes

2. Content:
1) Introduction
– Asia Pacific tourism perspectives
over the past four decades
2) PPP interpretations
– No standard, internationally
accepted definition
3) PPP applications
– From UNWTO Global Report on PPP:
Tourism Development
 Saudi Arabia
 Myanmar
 Vanuatu
 Samoa
Pa-O guide, Nan Khin.
Zoology graduate from Taunggyi University,
Shan State, Myanmar

3. CLMV stamps as historical record
1970s
Introduction:
40 years ago …
early stages of tourism in ASEAN
… zero or little tourism in CLMV
Bali

4. Image source: www.eda.admin.ch/deza/en/home/countries/mekong.html
Tourism: CLMV within ASEAN & GMS context
1975: 1.3 mil
2016: 32.5 mil
1975: 1.4 mil
2016: 26.7 mil
Norlida Hanim, M.S. (2007)
Every nation is an ‘emerging economy’ at some stage:
 competing for private sector investments
 interested in using Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) to provide
public infrastructure assets & services

5. From wartorn to warm welcome.
‘Countries with a more sustainable & open tourism sector are more likely to enjoy
higher levels of positive peace in the future’ (WTTC).
www.wttc.org/research/other-research/tourism-as-a-driver-of-peace/

6. Developmental peace.
 For 140 years, from the First Opium War
in 1839 to the Sino-Vietnamese War in
1979, East Asia did not experience one
single decade without a serious war
somewhere.
 East Asia major battlefield in the ‘Cold
War’ era.
 The age of peace in Indochina – allowed
Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos to
normalize their relations with both
China and the USA – got access to the
USA market.
Professor Stein Tønnesson, Department of Peace and
Conflict Research, Uppsala University, Sweden +
Peace Research Institute Oslo, Norway.
East Asians have a Peace to Defend.
‘Tourism brings people together; it opens our
minds and hearts”
UNWTO Secretary-General Taleb Rifai

7. ‘Public-private partnership’ – no standard, internationally accepted definition
 can describe several types of arrangements between public & private entities
 up to individual country if they wish to have a definition to suit own institutional & legal situation
UNWTO publications
A broad application:
 Whatever is the best way to
contribute to public policy goals
 Brings together government
agencies + public sector +
representatives of the whole
tourism value chain
 Goals of promoting socio-economic
development, sustainability, job
creation & international
competitiveness through tourism
Development Banks
Focus on:
 Longer-term contracts between a
private party & a government entity
 Capital investment
 Provision of public assets or services
 Private party:
• bears significant risk
• management responsibility
• accountable for project performance
• remuneration linked to performance

8. UNWTO facilitates public & private initiatives
via the Affiliate Members Programme.
‘PPPs are beyond a developmental tool, but are sometimes essential to
stimulate creativity, enhance competitiveness and achieve visionary
results which may be difficult if both parties operated in isolation.’
Yolanda Perdomo
Director:
Affiliate Members Programme,
UN World Tourism Organization
The role and need for PPPs as tools for development.
 The term Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) covers
voluntary collaborative tourism partnerships
involving both the government and businesses.
 Can also include non-governmental organizations
(NGOs) and various other types of associations.

9. Since 1990, UNWTO has released a series of reports and publications that highlight
the importance of PPPs in tourism – examples:
1997
2003
2001
ESCAP/WTO/TAT Asia-Pacific
Seminar on Public-Private
Partnership in Tourism
Development, Bangkok,
20-22 March 2000.

10. Seventeen (17) case studies
in countries/regions ranging
Asia, Pacific, Africa, South America
& Middle East
+
4 on PPs & Destination Management
6 on Universities as resources for PPPs
3 on Training & PPPs
‘The development of
tourism in emerging
economies has been
shaped by many
factors among which
Public-Private
Partnerships (PPP)
play a key role.’
Taleb Rifai
Secretary-General,
UN World Tourism Organization
Free download:
http://affiliatemembers.unwto.org/publication/global-report-public-private-partnerships-tourism-development

11. The cases presented
demonstrate four types of
objectives:
1. Business competitiveness
(e.g., marketing);
2. Economic sustainability
(e.g., economic equity in
profit distribution);
3. Capacity building (e.g.,
knowledge transfer and
communication);
4. Environmental
conservation (e.g.,
biodiversity conservation).

12. Objective: Business competitiveness
Making cultural heritage a competive advantage
Saudi Hospitality Heritage Company: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

13. The program: Custodian
Program for Caring of the
Kingdom’s Cultural Heritage,
which aims to preserve, develop,
and raise awareness on the
national cultural heritage.
The policy:
Develop a high-quality network of heritage hospitality
facilities in different regions of the Kingdom as a sustainable
and internationally well-known tourism initiative.
The Vision:
Tourism and Heritage in the Vision 2030
Custodian Program for Caring of the Kingdom’s Cultural Heritage
Minarets are the most visible structures in Saudi Arabia - towers used to call people to prayer
The PPP project:
Established a joint stock holding
company – Saudi Hospitality
Heritage Company (SHHC).

14. The partners:
 Saudi Government – via the Public Investment Fund
 Development of, and investment in, heritage
buildings for area of accommodation & hospitality
purposes
 Established a joint stock holding company – Saudi
Hospitality Heritage Company (SHHC)
 SCTH offered private placement of company capital
targeting private joint stock companies specialized in
the development of hospitality and urban heritage
sites
 Founding shareholders:
Public Investment Fund (15%),
Taiba Holding Company (30%),
Dur Hospitality (25%),
Al-Tayyar Real Estate and Development Co. (20%),
Riyadh Development Company (8%),
Jeddah Development and Urban Regeneration
Company (Jedrick) (2%).
Custodian Program for Caring of the Kingdom’s Cultural Heritage

15. PPP Objectives
1) Establish and manage tourism and heritage
accommodation and traditional hospitality facilities;
2) Develop nationally and internationally high-scale
identity for heritage hospitality utilizing Kingdom unique
heritage potential;
3) Highlight the value of the Kingdom’s genuine heritage;
4) Promote opportunities for successful luxury heritage
hospitality experiences;
5) Develop tourism across provinces;
6) Create sustainable heritage tourism partnerships
between the public & private sectors (including,
undertaking internal and external design of heritage buildings;
making and marketing local handicraft; making and serving
popular dishes at banquets; and restoring, developing, and
manufacturing heritage building’ materials and construction
tools).
Custodian Program for Caring of the Kingdom’s Cultural Heritage
 SCTH considers the
private sector as the
main partner in the
process of developing
the tourism sector as a
whole.
 Private sector provides
capital to the SHHC and its
subsidiary companies;
operates, markets &
promotes the heritage
hospitality facilities within
the Kingdom; and develops
various heritage hospitality
products.

16. Inclusive business for tourism training in
Yangon and Nyaung Shwe (Inle Lake), Myanmar
Objective: Economic sustainability

17. The problem(s)
 Constraints to innovation & tourism market development in Myanmar
 Lack of product diversity & differentiation of product offering to target markets /
different markets
 Lack of understanding about the concept of inclusive business

18. The project:
 Provide training on inclusive
tourism business
 Help companies develop and pilot
new inclusive business models

19. Partnerships:
• Industry
• Government
agencies
(National,
state/provincial)
• International
donor
• NGOs
Product & Packaging Innovation Competition

20. Example:
Donor cooperation & partnerships to advance the Myanmar tourist guide industry.

21. Objective: Capacity building
Providing capacity building opportunities:
Carnival Australia and cruise ship tourism in Vanuatu, Pacific Islands.

22. The partnership:
World Bank/IFC; Vanuatu Government; Australian Government; Carnival Australia
Cruiselines, local communities.
Port Vila,
Vanuatu
The problem (s):
 Lack of training & direct employment
opportunities for local people in the
cruise ship sector.
 Many of the recruited locals find the
transition into the cruise ship
employment regime difficult and
unfamiliar, leading to a high turnover.

23. Methods:
 Preparatory cultural induction
seminar to ease this transition and
ensure that recruits feel better
prepared for their new working life
as crewmembers (IFC, 2014).
 The partnership provides
employment on the ships to
progress through the ranks, increase
their salaries, and job satisfaction
 For those interested in a career in
tourism hospitality to work for the
company in their onshore offices.
Outcome:
 This partnership programme added
130 jobs to the 120 jobs offered to
ni-Vanuatu people on board of
these ships in 2013.

24. Objective: Environmental conservation
Samoa ́s community tourism operators and the development of
innovative mechanisms to adapt to climate change.

25. The context:
Tourism in small island destinations, such as
Samoa, is highly vulnerable to climate-induced
risks, with small community operators having
relatively limited capacity to adapt
Tourism is the dominant sector of the
Samoan economy contributing more than
20% of GDP.

26. Context:
70% of Samoa’s population & tourism operations are located
within 100m of the coastline.
Many operators & communities are:
• exposed to the impacts of climate change induced events,
• other long-term incremental changes (e.g., sea-level rise),
• by changing seasonal weather patterns
 Threatening the viability and profitability of community value
chains.
The partnership:
• Samoan Tourism Authority, with the support of the United
Nations Development Programme (UNDP) - funding from
the Global Environmental Facility
• Government: Ministries of Natural Resources and
Environment and the Ministry of Women, Community and
Social Development.
• Private sector represented by Samoa Hotel Association & Savaii Samoa Tourism
Association
• Input from the civil society is provided through the community
members who participated in project workshops.

27. Activity:
 Support clusters of small operators at selected
local destinations around the country’s
coastline
 Establish management plans for Tourism
Development Areas (TDAs) by integrating
climate risks and adaptation measures
 Used 3D modelling techniques for TDA
planning process to provide a visual support
and engagement tool that facilitates
discussions around issues and solutions on
natural resources and tourism assets
management
 Connects tourism operators to the Climate
Information and Early Warning System through
innovative software and media applications
that transmit weather warnings and long-term
climate projections

28. Outcome:
 Helped tourism product diversification as a means of climate change adaptation,
by developing alternative cultural and natural programmes for beach activities
when affected by rainy and stormy weather
 Has enhanced water supplies and tourism related infrastructure
 Reduced shoreline erosion
though the introduction of
soft-engineering techniques
(e.g., beach replenishment)
aided by ecosystem-based
measures (e.g., vegetation
cover) and some protective
structures which help
maintain tourism
functionality (e.g., access,
aesthetics) of beaches.

29. Conclusions from UNWTO report:
 Tourism PPPs are common around the world
 Tourism builds on partnerships and collaboration at many geographic levels
 PPPs involve governments at central, regional and local levels, individual
businesses and tourism representative bodies, donor organizations of many
types, non-governmental agencies and community organizations
 Collaboration does not just happen, and often requires an external party or well
positioned stakeholder to create consensus or lead partnership development

30. Collaboration does not just happen - often requires an external party or well
positioned stakeholder to create consensus or lead partnership development.
 Focuses attention on key individuals, their network of contacts, their leadership,
authority and collaborative skills (Beritelli and Bieger, 2014)
 An effective convenor can build trust & relationships that support effective
governance, will be passionate about their task and imbue others that energy
(Gardiner and Scott, 2014).
 Can provide the needed linkage between the public, private & local community
sectors involved in the partnership.
 Important to bring the participants together & provide leadership and direction -
often a person trusted by and with great influence in the community.
Conclusions: Cases presented in the UNWTO report emphasize …

31. Report identifies 3 different types
of resources available for
developing PPPs.
1. Destination management
organizations provide a
natural home for collaborative
initiatives such as PPPs
2. Universities have a role in
supporting PPPs in emerging
areas
3. Some examples of funding and
training support that may be
available to PPPs have been
identified
Conclusions: Cases presented in the UNWTO report emphasize …

32. Successful PPPs:
1. Provide a benefit to all stakeholders
involved
2. Demonstrating tangible outcomes -
encourages participation & maintains
momentum to ensure the
sustainability of the project
3. Are collaborations between many
different stakeholders who come
together for mutual economic benefit
from providing memorable
experiences to tourists – they form
partnerships as they cannot achieve
their individual objectives on their
own
Conclusions: The cases in the UNWTO report indicate …
The combination of stakeholders’ actions can achieve what they cannot do individually.
Image source: www.shutterstock.com/image-vector/map-flag-laos-cambodia-myanmar-vietnam-422394277

33. Public Sector Capacity Building for Strategic Implementation of
Tourism Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) in the CLMV region.
Vientiane, Lao PDR. 3 – 5 May, 2017
PPP for tourism growth and development in developing countries.
Correspondence:
Steve Noakes
steve@pacificasiatourism.org