Tourism professionals in Laos can now access the Sustainable Tourism Academy in Lao, following a partnership between the Global Sustainable Tourism Council, Agoda and the Skills for Tourism, Agriculture and Forestry Program.
The free online platform, established by Agoda and the Global Sustainable Tourism Council in 2025, provides courses on sustainable tourism and hospitality based on the council’s Hotel Standard.
The Skills for Tourism, Agriculture and Forestry Program has supported the translation of the academy into Lao, along with all six sets of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council’s standards.
The Lao-language materials are available to tourism professionals, educators, institutions and public-sector organizations.
Removing Language Barriers
Lee Sheridan, Senior Skills for Tourism Adviser for the program, said the translation would make sustainability resources more accessible to people working in the tourism sector.
“By removing language barriers, this collaboration facilitates access to world-class sustainability knowledge. The translation of the GSTC Standards and the Sustainable Tourism Academy platform into Lao language provides the opportunity for students, educators, and hospitality leaders to equip themselves with the practical skills needed to elevate sustainable tourism in Laos.”
A blended-learning course for small tourism businesses in Laos will also be launched as part of the partnership.
“We are proud to partner with the STAF Program and GSTC to bring practical, locally relevant sustainability learning to the Lao tourism industry through the Sustainable Tourism Academy. We hope the platform will support professionals in putting sustainability into practice and contribute to the continued development of a more sustainable and resilient tourism sector aligned with internationally recognised sustainability standards,” said Boratay Uysal, Senior Sustainability and Inclusion Manager at Agoda.
Jisun Kim, GSTC Training Program Manager, said making the standards available in local languages could help tourism professionals apply them in their work.
“Making sustainability knowledge and the GSTC Standards available in local languages is essential to strengthening capacity and supporting practical implementation,” Jisun said.
The Skills for Tourism, Agriculture and Forestry Program is co-financed by Luxembourg, Switzerland and the European Union. It is implemented by the Lao Ministry of Education and Sports in partnership with LuxDev, the Luxembourg Development Cooperation Agency.
Since its launch in 2025, the Sustainable Tourism Academy has reached nearly 5,000 tourism professionals and aspiring practitioners across Asia and has been recognized by ASEAN as a regional capacity-building resource.
The platform now offers learning content in eight languages: English, Vietnamese, Malay, Thai, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean and Lao.
