Projects
31 August 2010
Subtitle: Common quality standards and marketing for Community Based Tourism Businesses in Asia
Period: February 2008 – August 2010 (30 months)
Funded by: Asia Invest (European Union)
Partners: SNV (Netherlands Development Organisation)
Project partners: ECEAT (Netherlands), INDECON (Indonesia), CCBEN (Cambodia) and STDC (Mongolia)
Introduction:
The proposed project will develop and introduce common Community-Based Tourism standards within South & East Asian countries based on the destination context and the expectations of the international consumer and tour operator markets. 16-22 Community-Based Tourism destinations and their suppliers in Indonesia, Cambodia and Mongolia will be assessed and trained according to these standards. Existing networks of CBT suppliers will be strengthened, and they will be trained to position their CBT suppliers in an international tourism market. Standards for quality and sustainable CBT products will be developed in line with international quality and sustainability standards. Outbound and inbound tour operators will be actively approached and provided with trustful information on the CBT destination and ask to commit themselves to include assessed CBT products in their packages. Internet technologies will be introduced in order to facilitate Business to Business contacts and information exchanges.
Project objectives:
- Widely supported, assessed and accredited Asian Community-Based Tourism (CBT) products;
- CBT Standards are implemented and communicated throughout the whole product supply chain between Asian CBT suppliers and international tour operators and consumers;
- Close collaboration between the CBT networks of all Asian countries and use of the harmonized quality and sustainability standards
- Available B2B internet technologies and B2B marketing tools effectively used by most CBT suppliers from South and East Asia and European Tour Operators;
- Accredited Asian CBT products widely known among inbounds operators and European tour operators; European tour operators distribute the best practice standards to all their suppliers in Asia;
- Substantially reduced exploitation of - and increased contribution to - the local traditions, cultural heritage and the natural environment of Asian rural communities by tour operators
Activities
- National workshops will be held to define national indicators and the development of comfort and sustainability quality standards, checklists and assessment systems and procedures.
- on-site quality assessments and training visits to anumber of selected communities. A tour operator Advisory Board will evaluate the products from a market point of view.
- The CBT networks and its members will be trained in various important sustainable tourism issues, such as quality and sustainability assessment, legal and juridical aspects, and commercialization. CBT trainers will be updated on supply chain management methodologies.
- Newsletter to 500+ European tour operators and Asian national tourism representatives; online portfolio/database of assessed CBT products; orientation workshops for interested tour operators on tourism trade shows in the main generating markets of Europe will be held, signing of at least 9 contracts for three year period between suppliers and operators.
Expected results
- Clear national and regional quality and sustainability standards, widely agreed upon and communicated within the tourism sector;
- CBT suppliers will use the new quality systems to gain competitiveness;
- Quality assessed CBT suppliers will be widely recognized in (inter)national business policies;
- CBT networks in Asia will be significantly professionalized in the field of quality and sustainability assessment and commercialization;
- CBT networks will get more and higher quality members;
- Assessed and accredited CBT products will be recognizable by the introduction of an international recognizable logo; More CBT products will be taken up in the package of inbound and outbound tour operators;
- The benefits for the local communities generated through CBT will increase significantly.