The Tourism Program improves the sustainability of the rapidly emerging tourism sector in Cambodia, Lao PDR and Vietnam. The Facility targets tourism because of its great importance to economies in the Mekong region and strong potential to grow. At the destination level, common issues include short lengths of stay and limited net benefits to local communities. In Cambodia, IFC-MPDF is running a 1-year sustainable tourism project in Siem Reap. This is encouraging travelers to stay longer, and contribute more to the local economy. This initiative is also being extended to Lao PDR and Vietnam, using the slogan Stay Another Day. This complements the work of www.worldhotel-link.com, a worldwide network of websites incubated by IFC-MPDF that allows smaller accommodation providers to market themselves on the internet and promote local projects that ‘care for the destination’. Other technical assistance initiatives include targeted capacity building with hotel and travel associations and other national actors.
