Causes of Limitations in Training and Fostering Human Factors in Tourism Economic Development in the Lao People's Democratic Republic

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In addition, the infrastructure serving the development of the tourism economy in recent years has also revealed some weaknesses at natural tourist destinations. The issue of coordination with partners to improve services, facilities and infrastructure at tourist destinations, the quality of hotels and motels to facilitate and ensure the safety of tourists, thereby impressing them to attract them back to Laos in recent years has not been improved much. The government has tried to promote the participation of the private sector in infrastructure development under the BOT model to mobilize a large amount of investment capital to improve the transportation system and other utilities to promote the development of infrastructure serving the development of the tourism economy. However, some infrastructure construction projects in some tourist destinations still have high BOT fees, leading to some mixed reactions from the people and tourism service businesses. This can be seen through the example of Road 16 in Champasak province, this road section was repaired and upgraded, not rebuilt, but tolls were collected for cars for 45 years like newly built roads, so people reacted when tolls were imposed on cars, this was unfair.

3.3.2. Causes of limitations

3.3.2.1 . Causes of limitations in training and fostering human resources in tourism economic development in the Lao People's Democratic Republic today

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The limitations in training and fostering human resources in tourism economic development in Lao PDR stem from the following causes:

One is, it comes from the awareness and actions of all levels and units.

Although all levels and units have recognized the important role of training and fostering in promoting the human factor in developing the tourism economy in the Lao PDR, this has not been realized in effective actions by labor units and organizations. In addition, all levels and sectors have not yet had a clear plan for organizing the implementation of training and fostering the workforce in the tourism and service industry.

Second , it comes from the reality of human factors serving the needs in the tourism industry.

With a resource-based economy, Lao PDR is now one of the lowest-income countries in the region. Economic growth has been quite

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The high growth rate of 7 to 8% per year in the past decade mainly stems from sectors such as mining and energy - these are sectors that do not have high demand for human resources, especially high-quality human resources. Therefore, there is still no team of experienced experts to implement, monitor and adjust the human factor development strategy for the Lao tourism industry to ensure sustainable development in the future. In addition, the tourism industry of the Lao PDR has not been able to make the best use of the human factor in the development process in recent times, also stemming from the fact that the tourism industry in general and the tourism economy in particular still lack high-quality labor resources.

Third, the education and training system has not kept up with practical requirements. In recent times, the work of educating and training human resources for the industry has been...

Tourism economy in Laos still has many shortcomings. Education and training of human resources in tourism economy is not closely linked to reality, and to some extent still fails to meet and closely follow the needs of the market. Training content is mainly focused on theory, the practice rate has been focused but still does not meet the requirements to improve the quality of human resources. The facilities of the education system are not synchronized, schools and educational equipment serving the teaching and learning process are lacking, or are very old, so they do not meet the teaching and learning program according to the modern education system to train human factors.

Fourth, mobilizing investment to develop vocational training and development facilities is still limited.

At present, what is necessary for the tourism industry in Laos is to develop the skills of young people and create jobs with stable income for each person. To do this, the training and development system needs to be planned, built and operated synchronously, with close links to each other. However, in the past, the mobilization of public and private resources to develop the quantity and quality of human resources has been limited. The mobilization of investment in developing infrastructure, teachers and experts is still lacking in quantity and weak in quality. Authorities at all levels and sectors have not had appropriate policies and strategies to employ graduates from vocational schools.

Fifth, the awareness of self-training, self-study, and promoting positivity of each person is still not high.

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In addition to the above factors, in recent years, a number of young people as well as young workers who have just graduated from universities, vocational schools and those who have not received vocational training have shown signs of not being able to train themselves well in terms of political ideology, lifestyle and work, self-study and promoting the positivity of each person. Therefore, it has led to not being able to fully develop their own capacity and ability in the learning process as well as in the practical work process of each person to be able to meet the requirements of reality.

3.3.2.2. Causes of limitations in human resource use in tourism economic development in the Lao People's Democratic Republic today

The limitations pointed out above on the use of human resources in economic development of tourism in Lao PDR originate from objective as well as subjective causes, specifically:

Firstly, recruiting people to study professions related to tourism economics is still difficult.

One of the limitations in the process of using human resources in promoting human factors in tourism economic development in recent years is that although every year the authorities try to encourage young people to work in the tourism industry by communicating that if they are trained in skills they will be able to get jobs and salaries to meet their needs. But young people do not seem to be interested in vocational schools and many young people in Lao PDR only want to study for a university degree, not to study at tourism vocational schools. This situation leads to many university graduates but still cannot find jobs, thus raising concerns about the increasing unemployment rate while the human resources serving the tourism industry are lacking in both quantity and quality. Besides, in Lao PDR, most parents want their sons and daughters to study at foreign universities and work in ministries or government agencies after graduation, so “not many parents think that their sons or daughters should start their own businesses or work with private companies in general and the tourism industry in particular” [68, p.12].

Second, the arrangement of human resources to improve work efficiency has not been done well.

Laos' current total population is nearly 6.5 million, of which 50% are under the age of 25, which represents great potential for economic growth. According to the IMF

While population aging is not a concern in Laos, labor productivity in the tourism industry is a concern as the allocation of human resources in this sector is not really effective. In particular, when Laos' growth is mainly based on the exploitation of natural resources, and to ensure sustainable growth and integration into the ASEAN economic community, the Lao PDR has not yet made many changes in its production structure towards production and services through the allocation of many human resources to serve the tourism industry while this is an industry with higher added value.

Third, the arrangement of qualified and quality human resources to serve the tourism industry has not been given due importance.

In recent times, in addition to improving the standards and labor skills of human resources in tourism economic development to meet the needs of the job market, the protection of workers' rights in the tourism economic sector has not been given due importance. Currently, in the Lao PDR, there are many people who are well-trained in specialized knowledge, soft skills as well as languages (English, Korean, Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese - countries with many tourists coming to the Lao PDR in recent years) but they do not have the desire to serve in the tourism industry and work at tourist destinations far from the center. Therefore, the arrangement of this resource to fully develop their capabilities has not been possible, stemming from both objective and subjective reasons.

Fourth , the implementation of planning and protection of workers has not been done effectively.

In recent years, although labor agencies have cooperated with the private sector in the tourism industry to improve and promote employment services and self-employment, and strengthen the protection of workers in the tourism industry. However, the planning of labor development by region as well as ensuring criteria on social, security and defense aspects have not been really good. On the other hand, with the rapid development of the tourism sector, many workers have not been managed and therefore more and more workers in the tourism industry have not been treated fairly by their employers and the review and assessment of this issue is facing difficulties because "government officials protecting workers as well as managing tourism development have not had specific statistics on this issue, while established trade unions account for only 30% of the 124,870 private enterprises in Laos" [83, p.3].

3.3.2.3. Causes of limitations in creating a suitable environment for human factors to operate in tourism economic development in the Lao People's Democratic Republic today

The limitations in creating a suitable environment for human factors to operate in the development of tourism economy in Lao PDR today stem from the following causes:

Firstly , the environment in terms of mechanisms and policies is not really favorable.

In recent times, Lao PDR has not created a favorable environment for maximizing the human factor in tourism economic development. Policies to promote the human factor in tourism economic development are quite adequate, however, these policies are difficult to put into practice in the lives of the 50 ethnic groups in the country. In addition, policies for researchers have not received due attention, thus failing to promote the ability and qualifications of researchers in carrying out in-depth research topics on tourism economics.

In addition, according to the summary from the Lao National Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the tourism industry in Laos is still facing obstacles in contributing to economic development, including the lack of a comprehensive tourism promotion budget from the central government; lax management by various agencies and ineffectiveness in the regular consultation process to plan the tourism economic development strategy between the public and private sectors. Not only that, “service sector enterprises are also being charged higher electricity prices when compared to industrial and commercial sectors” [101, p.11]. On the other hand, the proposal to remove barriers to tourism economic development from the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism that the tourism industry is facing in order to increase the number of tourists to Laos has not been effectively implemented. Therefore, there are still barriers to the development of the tourism industry that need to be considered and improved, such as creating more favorable conditions at border gates, building transportation systems at tourist destinations; and reducing barriers to domestic tourism.

Second , the democratic and fair environment has not yet been effectively promoted.

Although a democratic and fair environment for human factors to fully develop their capacity and ability has been guaranteed through legal bases, the implementation in practice has not yet fully promoted those advantages. At the same time,

The business environment for tourism economic development enterprises, especially small and medium enterprises in localities, has not been given the same attention and created favorable conditions as large FDI enterprises. Therefore, "creating motivation for domestic individuals with capacity and enthusiasm to work, eliminating hunger and reducing poverty as well as promoting tourism economy to contribute to a more stable and sustainable macro-economy has not been effective" [89, p.10].

Third , the infrastructure conditions have not been properly invested.

Lao PDR has great potential for natural, cultural and historical tourism, but in recent times, "the Government has not yet taken advantage of these advantages to promote economic development because the infrastructure, especially infrastructure, has not been invested in a systematic manner" [59, p.3]. In particular, the economic development of Laos in general as well as the promotion of human factors in the development of tourism economy in Lao PDR in particular in the recent period depends greatly on the systematic and synchronous development of infrastructure among localities. Therefore, this limitation needs to be seriously addressed to promote the development of the tourism economy in the coming time.

Chapter 3 Summary

In this chapter, the author has surveyed the current status of promoting human factors in tourism economic development in Lao PDR (based on the theory systematized and clarified in chapter 2), including 3 main contents:

(1) General overview of tourism economic development in Lao PDR in recent years through clarifying the characteristics of tourism economic development in Lao PDR and the contributions of the tourism economic sector in Lao PDR to the country's development process.

(2) Analyze the achievements in promoting the human factor in tourism economic development in terms of training and fostering the human factor in tourism economic development, using the human factor in tourism economic development and creating a suitable environment for the human factor to operate in tourism economic development in the Lao PDR. At the same time, clarify the reasons for this achievement, which is the attention of the Party, the State, the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism, the Ministry of Education as well as the coordination from other agencies in the country. In particular, the efforts of the human factor itself along with changes in mechanisms and policies in the context of integration have helped human resources in the tourism economic sector develop.

(3) Clarifying some limitations that have existed in recent years in promoting the human factor in tourism economic development in the Lao PDR. At the same time, analyzing the objective and subjective causes leading to these limitations in the recent period. From the above contents, the author will have a full theoretical and practical basis to thereby propose directions and solutions to improve the effectiveness of promoting the human factor in tourism economic development in the Lao PDR in the coming time.

Chapter 4

SOME MAIN SOLUTIONS TO PROMOTE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE HUMAN FACTOR IN

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF TOURISM IN THE LAOS PEOPLE'S DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC IN THE COMING TIME

4.1. GROUP OF SOLUTIONS ON RAISING AWARENESS OF THE POLITICAL SYSTEM AND THE WHOLE SOCIETY ON EFFECTIVE PROMOTION OF THE HUMAN FACTOR IN ECONOMIC AND TOURISM DEVELOPMENT IN THE LAOS PEOPLE'S DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC IN THE COMING TIME

4.1.1. Raising awareness of the political system

To have truly effective solutions in promoting the human factor in tourism economic development, it is necessary to first implement solutions to raise awareness of the political system. In which, the specific contents include:

First , raise awareness of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party

In recent years, the proportion of the tourism industry in the Lao PDR has and will continue to occupy an important position in the country's economy as well as in the upcoming 9th socio-economic development strategy. This stems from the direct and indirect benefits that the tourism economy brings, which are extremely large, not only reflected in the level of contribution to the total national income but also in the benefits in job creation, hunger eradication and poverty reduction. In particular, developing the tourism economy is also a way to promote and communicate "soft power" so that the Lao PDR can strengthen connections and exchanges, and promote the unique cultural values of the 50 ethnic groups in the country.

Not only that, developing tourism economy will also have a significant impact on the process of international economic integration and implementing the foreign policy of "strengthening and promoting friendly relations, solidarity and cooperation with strategic friends, promoting good cooperative relations with neighboring countries, ASEAN countries as well as other partners and international organizations, ensuring compliance with each specific goal set" [129, p.55].

With the above issues, in order to continue to help the tourism economy develop and contribute to the common goal of building and protecting the country, it requires the Lao People's Revolutionary Party in general as well as party organizations and party members to clearly recognize the importance of the tourism economy, including clearly recognizing the important factor

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