
The unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic reversed decades of robust tourism growth in Southeast Asia, causing widespread business closures and millions of job losses. While the pause in travel and tourism has brought economic hardship and isolation to many communities, it also offers a unique opportunity for industry stakeholders to address the structural issues undermining sustainability in the region.
The Southeast Asia Sustainable Tourism Hub is anchored in ADB’s Southeast Asia Department, Urban Development and Water Division. It brings together diverse expertise from within and outside of ADB to help clients develop and finance innovative tourism projects, build destination management capacity, and provide knowledge solutions that align with ADB Strategy 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals. Our regional perspective, strong country presence, and partnerships enable us to deliver quality development solutions for Southeast Asia’s tourism industry.

Operations

The technical assistance facility will help countries in Southeast Asia prepare sustainable tourism projects and catalyze financing to support them. It supports regional priorities to revive tourism, develop green and resilient urban and transport infrastructure in secondary cities, accelerate inclusive digital transformations, and mobilize domestic resources.

The project is financing climate-resilient roads, water transport infrastructure, urban infrastructure, and capacity development needed to boost and better manage tourism in Cambodia’s coastal areas, Lao PDR’s Champasak, Luang Prabang, and Vientiane Provinces, and several secondary towns in Viet Nam.
The Community-Based Tourism COVID-19 Recovery Project will help communities in Preah Vihear and Takeo provinces generate local jobs and income by improving tourism services infrastructure, enhancing visitor experiences, and strengthening tourism supply chain linkages.
News and Events

As the region starts reviving travel, there is a growing consensus the pandemic is an opportunity to fix structural issues that have plagued tourism over the years and rebuild it greener.

While there is no playbook on how to restart the travel engine, there are opportunities to streamline measures while respecting practical risk mitigation considerations, PATA CEO Liz Ortiguera says in a blog post.

While the pandemic has upended tourism in Southeast Asia, it also offers a unique opportunity for the industry to build back greener.
Recent Publications

This report outlines key trends in the tourism sector in the region before the outbreak and during the pandemic from early 2020 to the end of 2021 and recommends how governments can foster recovery in the sector.

This publication examines tourism in Asia and the Pacific and how to reset the sector to contribute more effectively to the Sustainable Development Goals.

This joint report from the UNWTO and ADB explores how big data can support the development of sustainable tourism and help revitalize and reshape the sector as it emerges from the pandemic.
Contact and Team

Steven Schipani
Principal Tourism Industry Specialist

Alely A. Bernardo
Senior Financing Partnerships Specialist

Dang Thuy Trang
Senior Urban Development Specialist

Anna Fink
Country Economist, Indonesia

Do Nhat Hoang
Senior Project Officer (Urban Development)

Elizabeth Haeri Jung
Urban Development Specialist

Leonard H. Leung
Natural Resources and Agriculture Economist

Nguyen Thanh Giang
Senior Social Development Officer (Gender)

Nida Ouk
Senior Project Officer

Jay Roop
Principal Country Specialist, Thailand

Wouter Schalken
Senior Sustainable Tourism Specialist

Phoxay Xayyavong
Senior Social Sector Officer