The Southeast Asia Sustainable Tourism Facility aims to boost inclusive, sustainable development in the sector, and help local tourism entrepreneurs, especially women and youth, adopt digital platforms to grow their businesses.
ADB said the facility will also help policy makers design visa, online short-term rental, and other policies to attract longer-staying, higher-spending visitors and remote workers, allow more small entrepreneurs to legitimately operate accommodation services, and boost tourism tax revenues.
âThis new facility aims to help ADBâs developing member countries in Southeast Asia revive tourism, which has been hard hit by the Covid-19 pandemic,â said ADB Principal Tourism Industry Specialist for Southeast Asia Steven Schipani.
âProjects supported by the facility will develop green and resilient urban and transport infrastructure in secondary cities to improve the tourism sectorâs competitiveness, help create jobs, protect the environment, and accelerate inclusive digital transformations,â he also said.
The facility includes a $500,000 grant from ADBâs Technical Assistance Special Fund. In addition, ADB will administer a $225,000 grant contribution from the Project Readiness Improvement Trust Fund financed by the Nordic Development Fund.
ADB will also administer a $500,000 grant from the Republic of Korea e-Asia and Knowledge Partnership Fund and a $500,000 grant from the Spanish Cooperation Fund for Technical Assistance.
In 2019, travel and tourism accounted for 12.1 percent of Southeast Asiaâs gross domestic product (GDP) and employed 42 million workers, mostly women working for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
But international visitor arrivals dropped 82 percent in 2020 from 2019, while domestic tourism remains constrained by travel restrictions and reduced economic activity. The sectorâs contribution to regional GDP fell by 53 percent in 2020, pushing more people into poverty.
Even before Covid-19, Southeast Asia trailed global tourism competitiveness benchmarks for ground, port, and urban infrastructure, information and communication technology readiness, and environmental sustainability.
Governments hope to address these challenges in tandem with efforts to revive tourism. The facility will support key tourism-related priorities set out by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and subregional tourism strategies in Southeast Asia.
