HANOI – On 28th February 2025 in Hanoi, the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in cooperation with the Swiss Cooperation Office, Embassy of Switzerland in Vietnam, organized an official launch ceremony for the “Swiss Tourism for Sustainable Development project in Vietnam” (ST4SD).
The ceremony featured representatives from leaders of Ha Giang, Quang Nam, and Dong Thap provinces, leaders of Vietnamese training institutes, and some tourism experts. The event included a Letter of Exchange signing ceremony by H.E. Ambassador Thomas Gass and Ha Van Sieu, Deputy Director General of the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism, marking the formal commencement of the project.
In his opening speech, Nguyen Trung Khanh, Director General of the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism, welcomed and appreciated the support of the Swiss Government through the ST4SD project. He expressed hope that this would be an important driving force contributing to enhancing the quality and sustainability of the tourism industry. At the central government level, the project is expected to contribute to supporting the implementation of strategies and plans at the national scale, focusing on promoting innovation in tourism promotion activities, product development, digital transformation, and supporting the implementation of high-quality tourism and hospitality training programs. Additionally, the project will serve as a key driving force to help localities strengthen public-private partnerships and promote sustainable tourism transformation.
At the launch event, Swiss Ambassador Thomas Gass said that both Switzerland and Vietnam possess beautiful natural landscapes and diverse, rich cultures, and he believes that both countries have much to share and learn from each other. “Through the ST4SD project, we are delighted to collaborate with the Ministyr of Culture, Sports and Tourism to share Switzerland’s experience and expertise in fostring sustainable and inclusive growth in Vietnam’s tourism industry. In doing so, we support Vietnam on its path toward becoming a resilient, high-income country,” the Swiss Ambassador emphasized.
The project aims to promote the recovery of Vietnam’s tourism industry after the Covid-19 pandemic and address the sector’s challenges based on sustainable tourism development.
The Swiss Government, through its Cooperation Program in Vietnam, has committed 3.6 million CHF (about 101 billion VND) in non-refundable official development assistance (ODA) to implement the ST4SD project. The project’s managing agency is the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism. The Vietnam National Authority of Tourism has been designated as the project owner. The project is implemented by the donor. Helvetas Swiss Intercooperation is selected as the implementing organization in Vietnam.
The ST4SD project does support the implementation of action plans and strengthen public-private dialogue at both national and subnational level; establish a new Swiss Executive Hospitality Training (Swiss EHT) programme at qualified Vietnamese training institutes and create a network of international, Swiss and local experts; and promote innovative concepts for businesses and destinations to strengthen sustainability, including the introduction of sustainability standards. The project is implemented with consultancy and participation from two leading Swiss universities—EHL Hospitality Business School Lausanne and the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts (HSLU).
The three localities chosen to implement the project are Ha Giang, Quang Nam, and Dong Thap, representing the northern, central, and southern regions, with great potential for sustainable tourism development and unique characteristics.
According to Pham Van Luong, Country Director of Helvetas Vietnam, in the selected provinces, the project will provide technical support in developing and promoting tourism destinations and products that align with the current tourism development plans of the provinces, thus fostering the sustainable development of the localities. In the long term, the ST4SD project will help create new livelihoods and develop a sustainable economy in Vietnam.
In his directive speech, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism Ho An Phong thanked the Swiss Cooperation Office in Vietnam and the Swiss Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) for mobilizing grant funding, making an important contribution to the development of Vietnam, especially in economic, social, environmental reforms, and sustainable tourism. These contributions have been acknowledged by the Vietnamese government in recent years. “By effectively utilizing the non-repayable funding from the Swiss Federal Government, along with a team of skilled professionals with practical experience in tourism and sustainable development, the project will be able to achieve its full potential,” emphasized Deputy Minister Ho An Phong.