Luang Namtha is widely recognized as one of the
leading sustainable tourism destinations in Lao PDR.
Cited in the National Growth and Poverty Alleviation
Strategy and National Biodiversity Strategy and Action
Plan for its success in merging poverty alleviation and
natural resource conservation, the CBET model
developed by the UNESCO/LNTA Nam Ha Ecotourism
Project between 1999-2007 is the standard by which
national tourism development initiatives are
measured against. Also recognized internationally for
its gains in the fight against poverty and sustainable
use of biodiversity, the Nam Ha Project won several
international awards including the 2001 United
Nations Development Award, a British Airways
Tourism for Tomorrow Award, and was a finalist for
the United Nations Development Program’s Equator
Award in 2006.