Sustainable tourism development through education
Southeast Asian tourism is facing many major challenges: a shortage of high-quality human resources for sustainable development, the youth unemployment rate is still high, and women have few opportunities to hold management positions in the industry.
Faced with that reality, the European Institute for Cooperation and Development (IECD) coordinates with the Network of Social Enterprises to train in the hotel - restaurant sector in Southeast Asia with the support of the Francophone International Organization to implement the Eco-Horizon project. The project aims to strengthen connections between vocational training institutions and businesses in the industry, and integrate sustainable development content into the training program.
During the two-year implementation period from August 2025 to December 2027, the Eco-Horizon project aims to improve the teaching capacity for sustainable tourism for 40 lecturers in the restaurant - hotel industry, prioritizing women and lecturers from rural areas.
The project aims to increase job opportunities and career development for more than 400 young people after graduation. Support 30 young women to start businesses in the field of sustainable tourism. Building a platform for knowledge sharing in French, connecting 10 vocational training centers with about 60 business partners in the industry.
“Start Your Business”: Starting a business - the driving force for change
One of the main activities of the project is the "Start Your Business" startup training and support program. In August 2025, a specialized training course will take place at Bayon School in Siem Reap (Cambodia). The initial goal is to support 20 alumni (60% female), helping to establish or support 5 small businesses. The results achieved exceeded expectations with 34 alumni (reaching a rate of 100% female) aged 18 to 40.
Through learning sessions combining theory, teamwork and situational research, students learn how to build business plans, market analysis, identify target customers and manage budgets.
Evaluation results show that all students are satisfied with the program, and most are willing to introduce the course to others. Not only providing technical knowledge, the program also helps many students shift from a subjective approach to systematic business thinking, thereby becoming more confident when implementing startup projects.
In addition to training activities, Eco-Horizon is actively building a "Sustainable Hub" in the region, implemented from November 2025 to the end of 2026. The project aims to connect 60 business partners in the industry to share and discuss the best ecological practices. In particular, a major network connection event is expected to be held at EHT school from August to September 2026.
At the same time, the project also introduces the Éco-Guide toolkit to encourage businesses in the hotel - restaurant industry to apply environmental standards in business operations. Through vocational training, startup support and promotion of cooperation between stakeholders, Eco-Horizon expects to contribute to shaping a more sustainable tourism industry, opening up more career opportunities for young people in Vietnam and Cambodia.
