UN Tourism joined with the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism of Vietnam to host the First Conference on Tourism for Rural Development in the historic town of Hoi An. The event brought together government officials, international and regional financial institutions, development agencies, tourism professionals, rural community leaders, researchers and NGOs to explore policies and strategies to maximize the role of tourism in progressing development in rural areas.
Empowering Communities
Sessions spotlighted the power of tourism to create jobs, safeguard nature and cultural heritage, and promote social inclusion, with a focus on empowering local communities, women and youth. Key discussions included topics such as policy frameworks for rural tourism development, growing agriculture and tourism synergies to drive sustainability, market access and integration, innovative digital tools and funding mechanisms to support rural destinations, entrepreneurs and community-led initiatives.
Opening the conference Zoritsa Urosevic, Executive Director, UN Tourism said: This landmark event has demonstrated the immense potential of tourism to transform rural communities. By placing people and planet at the center of our discussions, we have fostered meaningful connections and actionable strategies that will ripple across rural areas worldwide. Together, we have sown the seeds for a more inclusive and sustainable future.
Le Thanh Long, Deputy Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, said: The Tourism for Rural Development Programme by UN Tourism is consistent with Viet Nam’s development strategy and distinct potentials, competitive advantages, and outstanding opportunities with the orientation of rapid, sustainable development, green growth, digital transformation, and circular economy.
Placing tourism on the rural development agenda
The conference emphasized the importance of placing tourism firmly on the rural development agenda ensuring that it is fully integrated into funding for rural development and infrastructure planning.
The event stressed the importance of partnerships across sectors to ensure tourism not only drives economic growth but also preserves cultural heritage and natural resources. The panels collectively aimed to explore transformative strategies for leveraging rural tourism as a driver of sustainable development. Discussions included crafting effective government policies, addressing infrastructure challenges, and fostering public-private partnerships to amplify local initiatives.
Panelists from key organizations including the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Mekong Tourism, the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), and companies such as Fliggy, Intrepid Travel, Japan Travel Bureau (JTB), Meta, Planeterra, and Traveloka shared valuable insights on advancing rural tourism. They highlighted the critical role of sustainable tourism in fostering economic resilience, protecting cultural heritage, and creating equitable opportunities for rural communities. Media experts Carmen Roberts, TV Presenter and Travel Journalist, BBC Travel Show and Kanchan Nath, Senior Editor at Travel Daily Media shared their communication insights. Discussions provided key takeaways on integrating tourism with agriculture, ensuring inclusivity, and leveraging partnerships to drive long-term impact in rural destinations.
Fliggy Partnership to Drive Rural Development
During the event, UN Tourism and Fliggy signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen their collaboration on development of rural tourism. The partnership is designed to promote responsible tourism practices, foster technological innovation, and encourage knowledge exchange and capacity building. Key initiatives will include showcasing Best Tourism Villages, creating training programmes, and conducting joint research to support rural tourism.
Best Tourism Villages Network Annual Meeting
The conference also hosted the Second Annual Meeting of the Best Tourism Villages by UN Tourism Network, with 50 representatives from over 30 villages coming together in Viet Nam. Attendees reflected on the Network’s achievements, assessed its current state, and discussed ways to improve planning, coordination, and ownership among the villages. A strategic framework was also adopted, outlining a clear path forward to strengthen and build on the Network’s foundation.
The Best Tourism Villages Network brings together the villages recognized as Best Tourism Villages by UN Tourism as well as those in the Upgrade Programme.
Related links
About UN Tourism
The World Tourism Organization (UN Tourism) is the United Nations agency responsible for the promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism.
As the leading international organization in the field of tourism, UN Tourism promotes tourism as a driver of economic growth, inclusive development and environmental sustainability and offers leadership and support to the sector in advancing knowledge and tourism policies worldwide.
Our Priorities
Mainstreaming tourism in the global agenda: Advocating the value of tourism as a driver of socio-economic growth and development, its inclusion as a priority in national and international policies and the need to create a level playing field for the sector to develop and prosper.
Promoting sustainable tourism development: Supporting sustainable tourism policies and practices: policies which make optimal use of environmental resources, respect the socio-cultural authenticity of host communities and provide socio-economic benefits for all.
Fostering knowledge, education and capacity building: Supporting countries to assess and address their needs in education and training, as well as providing networks for knowledge creation and exchange.
Improving tourism competitiveness: Improving UN Tourism Members’ competitiveness through knowledge creation and exchange, human resources development and the promotion of excellence in areas such as policy planning, statistics and market trends, sustainable tourism development, marketing and promotion, product development and risk and crisis management.
Advancing tourism’s contribution to poverty reduction and development: Maximizing the contribution of tourism to poverty reduction and achieving the SDGs by making tourism work as a tool for development and promoting the inclusion of tourism in the development agenda.
Building partnerships: Engaging with the private sector, regional and local tourism organizations, academia and research institutions, civil society and the UN system to build a more sustainable, responsible and competitive tourism sector.
Our Structure
Members: An intergovernmental organization, UN Tourism has 160 Member States, 6 Associate Members, 2 Observers and over 500 Affiliate Members.
Organs: The General Assembly is the supreme organ of the Organization. The Executive Council take all measures, in consultation with the Secretary-General, for the implementation of the decisions and recommendations of the General Assembly and reports to the Assembly.
Secretariat: UN Tourism headquarters are based in Madrid, Spain. The Secretariat is led by the Secretary-General and organized into departments covering issues such as sustainability, education, tourism trends and marketing, sustainable development, statistics and the Tourism Satellite Account (TSA), destination management, ethics and risk and crisis management. The Technical Cooperation and Silk Road Department carries out development projects in over 100 countries worldwide, while the Regional Departments for Africa, the Americas, Asia and the Pacific, Europe and the Middle East serve as the link between UN Tourism and its 160 Member States. The Affiliate Members Department represents UN Tourism’s 500 plus Affiliate members.
UN Tourism Communications Department+34 91 567 8100UN Tourism
View source
