Need for synchronous coordination to develop green tourism in Vietnam

Green tourism and therapeutic tourism are becoming a sustainable direction for Vietnam's tourism industry, especially in the post-pandemic context and with increasing demand for healthcare. However, to effectively exploit this potential, the tourism industry needs a synchronous development strategy with close coordination between management agencies, businesses, educational institutions and local communities.

Tourists visit and experience Nam Cat Tien forest, Lam Dong province.

There are many limitations

In recent years, more and more tourism businesses in Vietnam have shifted to sustainable development, focusing on products associated with nature, community and health care. However, the “greening” of products is still facing many challenges.

Dr. Pham Thai Son, Deputy Head of the Department of Tourism, Ton Duc Thang University, said that green tourism not only brings profound spiritual values ​​to tourists but also promotes local economic development and raises social awareness without sacrificing the living environment.

“This is a global trend, especially after the pandemic, when people's need for mental and physical recovery is increasing. However, these products have not yet developed because there are many barriers and limitations from policies and practices that businesses need to remove soon,” said Dr. Pham Thai Son.

Citing facts, Mr. Nguyen Duong Trung Hieu, General Director of Vietourist Holdings Joint Stock Company, said that the company is focusing on developing “healing” tourism products such as meditation journeys, yoga, bathing in streams combined with using clean food, resting in the forest and participating in planting trees to protect the environment. With more than 417 hectares of forest invested in Gia Lai, tourists can directly participate in forest planting activities as an experience of special spiritual value.

"However, we must also frankly acknowledge the barriers in infrastructure and policies that are significantly affecting the expansion of this type of tourism. Specifically, infrastructure at many destinations is still weak, especially waste treatment and clean water systems. Many small and medium-sized enterprises do not have enough capacity or awareness to switch to green, policies to develop green tourism are still lacking and not clearly specific for each product and each field of interest to tourists...", said Mr. Nguyen Duong Trung Hieu.

According to Mr. Le Truong Hien Hoa, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism, in the context of climate change and increasing pressure on the ecosystem, developing green tourism is not only an ethical choice but also a sustainable, long-term development solution. That is the way for Vietnamese tourism to not only grow in quantity, but also improve quality, affirming its position on the world tourism map. However, at present, green tourism products are still mainly spontaneous, lacking systematization, and do not have a set of widely recognized common criteria and standards. Not to mention, communication work is not synchronous and specialized human resources in this field are very limited.

Must have long term strategy

Dr. Pham Thai Son said that Vietnam currently possesses dual advantages from rich natural resources and unique traditional culture. Integrating activities such as meditation, yoga, traditional medicine, health care or clean cuisine into tourism products will help improve the competitiveness of our country's tourism industry in the international market.

"To do this, Vietnam needs a systematic roadmap for infrastructure investment, development of high-quality human resources such as therapists, doctors, nutritionists, etc. and the need to build specific tourism products combined with the medical industry. In particular, therapeutic tourism products are now becoming high-end products, helping businesses create a competitive advantage compared to other countries in the region," Dr. Son suggested.

Green travel experiences help tourists "heal" their souls after stressful working hours in big cities.

From a policy perspective, Director of the National Tourism Administration Nguyen Trung Khanh also proposed reviewing and perfecting investment incentives for green tourism, developing human resource training programs, providing financial support for businesses, promoting digital transformation, and promoting green tourism domestically and internationally.

"For this type of tourism to develop effectively, it requires synchronous participation from all parties: the state provides guidance, businesses proactively "green" their operations, training facilities integrate knowledge into teaching, and local people participate in product development. In particular, the role of tourists is also changing: from passive consumers to value-creating companions. This requires tourists to also raise awareness, choose environmentally friendly services, and contribute more to the community," said Mr. Nguyen Trung Khanh.

According to tourism experts, green consumption trends are increasingly influencing destination selection behavior. According to statistics, about 34% of tourists are willing to pay more for green services and nearly 50% prioritize choosing tourism businesses that make positive contributions to the local community.

Grasping this trend, many provinces and cities in Vietnam have also begun to develop therapeutic tours combined with eco-resorts, such as: yoga and health tourism in Lam Dong, meditation in the forest in Gia Lai, body detox at resorts in the Central region or "healing tourism" programs associated with traditional medicine in some northern mountainous provinces.

In fact, in Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, Hanoi... also initially built modern urban health care tourism products associated with high-quality technology and services. However, without specific planning and orientation, these models may only develop sporadically and lack diffusion. Therefore, in the long term, tourism experts believe that Vietnam needs a comprehensive strategy at the national level to clearly identify priority areas, development criteria and inter-sectoral coordination mechanisms to create a strong green tourism - therapy ecosystem.

baotintuc.vn

Source: https://baolaocai.vn/can-phoi-hop-dong-bo-de-phat-trien-du-lich-xanh-tai-viet-nam-post648797.html