OREANDA-NEWS. October 26, 2012. Tourism is one of the most important sectors in Vietnam, directly contributing to 4.3% of GDP. Currently, approximately 4.3 million people in Vietnam are employed directly or indirectly in the tourism sector, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council. This is expected to rise to 4.9 million by 2022. DEG – Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH, enables a regionally operating company to participate in this growth by providing Thien Minh Travel Joint Stock Company (Thien Minh) with a long-term loan to the equivalent of 17 million US-dollars. "Our commitment will help a Vietnamese tourism and hospitality company continue to grow and promote sustainable tourism throughout Vietnam and Southeast Asia. Since its founding in 1994, Thien Minh has demonstrated its ability to implement new concepts within the tourism sector, one of which is in the area of volunteer tourism," said Philipp Kreutz, member of DEG's Management Board on the occasion of the signing ceremony.

"The loan is earmarked for Thien Minh's investment and expansion plans, targeting the 3 and 4-star hospitality segment in compliance with the latest social, environmental and safety standards. We are very pleased to have DEG as one of our financing partners and look forward to a long-term successful cooperation", said Mr. Tran Trong Kien, CEO of Thien Minh at the signing. The investment also serves to help meet the increasing demand for local hotel services, especially from domestic and regional travellers. The DEG-financed investment contributes to safeguarding 2,000 jobs within Thien Minh as well as to creating over 500 new jobs. Moreover, it is expected to generate net foreign-exchange income to the amount of over 10 million US-dollars a year.

Founded in 1994, Thien Minh was originally set up as a tour operator under the brand name “Buffalo Tours”. Over the past 18 years it has grown to become one of the leading travel and hospitality companies with a focus on sustainable tourism in Vietnam and the surrounding region. Thien Minh's main businesses include travel agency and tour operation, hotel development and operation as well as online hotel booking. Additionally, Thien Minh offers a wide range of volunteer travel programmes, an area which has been showing a continuing positive trend over the last few years.

In order to ensure that the company meets the human resource needs for its growing portfolio of hotels, Thien Minh plans to invest in a hospitality training school, combined with a training hotel. The project is located in An Giang Province of the Mekong Delta region. This investment would also make positive and sustainable contributions towards the community and tourism industry development. The project is co-financed by DEG from funds of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) for accompanying measures. Students trained by the school will be equipped with vocational skills and knowledge that can immediately be put into practice. The students themselves will operate the hotel, supported by experienced hotel managers and training staff. In order to enhance the learning experiences, the apprentices will also be guests in the hotel.