EU SUSTOUR
Project Background
The Bhutanese government has identified sustainability in tourism as a priority within it Vision 2030, long-term national planning strategy. Sustainability awareness among MSME’s within the travel sector however is still low. Sustainability standards exist but are hardly implemented in practice due to lack of market incentives. At the same time opportunities arise for sustainable inclusive growth thanks to the growing expectations from international B2B and B2C markets. To support Bhutanese MSME’s to cater for these opportunities ABTO together with co-applicants HRAB, ECEAT and ASR with support of the GAB, PATA and GSTC have defined the SUSTOUR approach. Based on a participative project design the project partners are combining their expertise in sustainable tourism, the Bhutanese business landscape and the policy environment to overcome the identified issues and support Bhutanese Tourism MSMEs nationwide in creating green supply-chains leading to inclusive sustainable development.
Objectives
The overall objective is to boost the transformation of Bhutan towards a green economy by enhancing the sustainability and competitiveness of tourism as a key sector thus contribute to the Vision 2030, Bhutan’s long-term national planning strategy well as SDG goals 8 and 12 by promoting SCP through sustainable supply chain development in the Bhutanese tourism sector. The specific objective is to have proven SCP practices replicated and integrated into Bhutanese tourism supply chain as a business requirement leading to greener products and integration of local MSMEs and communities, which is supported by enabling government policies leading to a competitive advantage within the global tourism market.
