One of the biggest sustainability challenges
faced by a development project
is how to facilitate the transfer
of knowledge to stakeholders in the field so
that initiatives can be continued and replicated
post-project. Another challenge, particularly
in post-conflict situations, is how to
nurture trust.
An integrated approach to these two
challenges has been piloted by the International
Trade Centre’s (ITC) ‘NTF III Inclusive
Tourism Focusing on Kayah State’ project in Myanmar through a Training of
Trainers (ToT) process in cultural tourism
product development. In Kayah state, ITC
has been working alongside government
officers, local tourism businesses and communities
for over two years to develop creative
and community-based tours.
As a result of this work, visitors to
Kayah have new opportunities to experience
its delete mosaic of authentic cultural
expressions and pristine natural environment.
HANDS-ON TOURISM
For example, in the state capital Loikaw visitors
can try their hands at making traditional
Kayah sausage. They can also explore local
villages accompanied by trained community
guides. In Hta Nee La Leh village, options for a community-based tour include visiting
ancient animist sites, meeting musicians
who still play traditional bamboo instruments,
enjoying an oxcart ride to a lotus
pond and tasting a Kayah barbecue in a local
home or on the banks of the Seven Lakes. In
Pan Pet village, visitors can enjoy an interpretive
trek in forested hills, encounter the
fabled long-neck women, and meet local
artisans in their homes to learn textiles and
bamboo weaving techniques.
To ensure that tourists enjoy the local
food and cherish their visit, services providers
were trained and coached to improve
hygiene conditions and handling food safety.
More than 300 food market vendors and
two bottled water companies were trained
to sustainability and hygiene measures.
As part of the effort, a group of 10 young
professionals were formed to further coach
(against a small service fee) tour operators
following the completion of the project.
Underpinning these activities is a
robust, participatory process that includes
community consultations; awareness raising;
identifying special elements of local life
which villagers feel proud and comfortable
to share with guests. Trainings in hospitality,
food hygiene, tour guiding skills, accounting
and taking bookings are also available.
FIELD TRAINING
Learning from two decades of previous
experiences in the region, ITC’s team
engaged proactively with an emerging sector
of small and medium-sized enterprises
(SMEs) ground-handlers in Loikaw, inviting
managers and staff to visit the communities
and participate in field training in partnership
with the local government. This on-thejob
training educated the ground-handlers
and government representatives on how
creative and community-based tours work
while crafting trusting relationships among
themselves, community members and the
government, leading to better business and
interpersonal relationships.
Community members have already
welcomed over 1,500 visitors on new tours
since the start of the project, with an increase
of international tourists arrivals in Kayah of
about 140%. According to Kayah state tourism
operators, spending in the state had almost doubled since September 2014. New
SME ground-handlers in Loikaw are now
partners with over 30 professional, nationallevel
tour operators.
Following the success of cultural tourism
development in Hta Nee Le Leh and
Pan Pet villages, ITC started working with
two other villages in Kayah state, Htay Kho
and Daw Ta Ma Gyi.
The process of identifying and training
two new villages was viewed as a great
opportunity to build hands-on tourism products
or community based tourism (CBT)
development skills among tourism professionals
in Kayah. ITC invited local government,
tour operators, tour guides and civil
society organizations (CSOs) to join this ToT
course.
The course led the trainees through
each step of the process of developing and
marketing CBT. Steps included identifying
an appropriate destination using key success
factor criteria; raising community members’
awareness about tourism; conducting a
community study to learn about potentials
and challenges in the new communities;
organizing a study tour for new community
members; and helping to conduct training
on cultural tourism development and management.
RECONCILIATION
A key aspect of the training is that trainees
represent all ethnic groups, including those
that were previously pitted against one
another in armed conflict. Trainees from
the Kayah, Kayan and Kayaw ethnic groups
have worked in teams alongside Burmese
local government officials and become colleagues
and friends. Staff of the Ministry of
Hotels and Tourism worked alongside CSO
staff, tour guides and ground-handlers to
collect and analyze information, interview
and train community members and present
their work. Step by step, the project has
had a powerful impact towards building the
skills and stakeholder cooperation needed
to develop a peaceful, sustainable and fun
cultural tourism destination. The trainees
discovered an important common ground
they all shared: using tourism as a means for
poverty reduction in Kayah.
‘The innocuous return to peace and
normality is one of the important contributions
or achievements of ITC’s NTF III
project,’ said author Pascal Khoo Thwe of
Myanmar.
‘Tourism can bring peace to Myanamar.
ITC’s inclusive tourism project has stabilized
peace for Kayah state,’ said Ohn Maung,
Myanmar’s Minister for hotels and tourism.
KNOCK-ON EFFECT
The inclusive nature of the NTF III Myanmar
project does not end in Kayah state, it has
a knock-on effect throughout the tourism
value chain, fostering collaboration and
partnerships with national and international
stakeholders.
In addition to the results achieved in
Kayah state, 25 Myanmar tour operators
based in Yangon were coached on export
marketing and assisted to link up with
international tour operators. Staff from
national and local tourism associations were
trained to deliver better services to clients.
The project also published guidelines for
developing better destination branding and
promotional material.
International outbound tour operators
are the drivers of tourism to Myanmar
and ITC worked to promote Kayah state at
major international tourism fairs such as the Berlin Internationale Tourismusbörse (ITB)
and the World Travel Market in London.
The development of national Code of Conducts
for visiting ethnic minority areas have
been facilitated by ITC with a wide range of
tourism stakeholders, using the best practice
example of Kayah.