Evolution of tourism approaches for poverty reduction impact in SNV Asia: Cases from Lao PDR, Bhutan and Vietnam

Development agencies are facing a growing demand to demonstrate larger impacts on poverty, which has resulted in a questioning of tourism as an effective intervention strategy. Tourism has been employed as an agent of economic development, job creation, and environmental and cultural conservation. However, critics have cited a dearth of evidence of tourism's contribution to poverty reduction. SNV Asia responded to this impetus in the last decade. The article provides a review of approaches to reach more development impact. Cases from Lao PDR, Bhutan and Vietnam show how SNV's way of working changed. It demonstrates how SNV involved the private sector, and how the organization adjusted its impact measurement systems. However, assessing development impact remained challenging. SNV decided to focus on select sectors that showed most development impact, and phases out from tourism. The article proposes not to move away, but find pragmatic approaches to increase tourism benefits for communities