Tourism offers enormous development opportunities for our partner countries. The beauty of nature, space for adventure, foreign cultures, art, and human encounters can be marketed right there, on the spot. Careless tourism, however, may put these very cultural and natural treasures at risk. GIZ makes an effort to shape tourism as an economically, socially and environmentally sound means for sustainable development.

Two examples:

The tourism potential of the Montenegrin hinterland had hardly been tapped when GIZ (former GTZ) started providing advisory services. Infrastructure development and support for marketing activities have already led to a significant increase in the number of tourists and better job opportunities. A wine road has been set up at Lake Scutari and in Cetinje, where wine-tasting events are being held and travel agencies offer trips to the vineyards.

Without tourism, the Pendjari Biosphere Reserve in Benin would not be sustainable in the long run. Significantly increasing revenue derives from photo and hunting tourism. By now, the population living near the park has a chartered right to a share of the revenue, and these means are employed to develop the rural infrastructure, schools, and health institutions. The attitude of the populace towards the park has changed fundamentally. Today they take pride in "their park". To expand the tourism potential, GIZ supports the local partners in their public relations efforts within the region as well as with the international marketing of the park.