Cultural tourism and poverty alleviation : the Asia-Pacific perspective

Cultural tourism forms an important component of international tourism in today's world.

It has a high potential for contributing to the reduction of poverty in poor and remote destinations, which are rich in intangible cultural resources, such as customs and folklore.

This publication is the result of the WTO seminar on Cultural Tourism and Poverty Alleviation, Siem Reap, Cambodia, 8 June 2004, and the Ministerial Conference on the same subject, held in Hue, Vietnam, 11-12 June 2004.

They were organized with the aim of capitalizing on Asia's rich cultural resources to support the UN Millennium Development Goal: the eradication of extreme poverty.