Key note address at Public Sector Capacity Building for Strategic Implementation of Tourism Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) in the CLMV region.Vientiane, Lao PDR. 3 – 5 May, 2017

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