The 'key' to promoting green and sustainable community tourism

A reporter from the newspaper Tin Tuc va Dan Toc interviewed Dr. Vu Nam, Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality, School of Business, National Economics University, and expert of the Swiss Tourism for Sustainable Development Project in Vietnam (ST4SD), on this topic.

According to him, how will the set of criteria for evaluating rural tourism destinations associated with green growth, which the National Tourism Administration is currently developing, impact the development of community tourism, especially in mountainous areas and ethnic minority regions?

The current set of criteria is necessary in the context of developing green tourism and sustainable tourism, which is becoming an urgent requirement worldwide .

Photo caption — Dr. Vu Nam, Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality, School of Business, National Economics University.

In Vietnam, the development of this set of criteria is also a concretization of many policies and guidelines for tourism development of the Party and State, such as green transformation, digital transformation in the tourism industry, the national green tourism development program, the rural tourism development plan, the national target program for building new rural areas, the national target program for economic development in ethnic minority and mountainous regions, etc.

If issued and implemented, this set of criteria will be an important guide in developing green and sustainable tourism for rural tourist destinations, especially community-based tourism destinations, bringing economic and social benefits while preserving local cultural, environmental, and ecological values, increasing the attractiveness of destinations, and integrating internationally in sustainable tourism development.

From an expert's perspective, what additional factors, in your opinion, are needed for the sustainable development of community-based tourism and to attract more tourists?

To develop sustainable community tourism, many different factors need to be implemented simultaneously:

Firstly, it is necessary to develop and promulgate guidelines and evaluation standards for the sustainable development of community-based tourism destinations, applicable nationwide. These standards should also be internationally integrated, meaning they should be based on common global standards such as the Global Sustainable Tourism Council's Destination Standards (GSTC-D), adapted to the Vietnamese context.

Secondly, attention should be paid to creative elements in the development of sustainable community tourism. This is both a criterion and a requirement for destinations to diversify their products, avoid duplication of products and services between similar destinations, and increase the attractiveness of the destination.

Thirdly, it is necessary to build a network of community-based tourism villages based on a common standard for sustainable development. The model of the World Tourism Organization's (UN Tourism) Best Practices Network could be studied and implemented at the national level in Vietnam. Once a good network is in place, implementation, evaluation according to sustainable development standards, sharing of experiences and knowledge, branding, and promotion of sustainable community-based tourism destinations in our country will be much easier.

Regarding the set of criteria being developed by the Vietnam National Tourism Administration, the draft is quite comprehensive and covers all factors related to sustainable rural tourism development. However, it is necessary to add some criteria on innovation, creativity, and green practices in rural tourism development to ensure greater comprehensiveness and alignment with international standards.

According to you, what are some solutions to disseminate these criteria to the community, especially in mountainous ethnic minority areas that are shaping tourism development?

To effectively apply any set of criteria, training and guidance are essential, especially for community-based tourism.

The development and implementation of these criteria at several model destinations is necessary so that villages and destinations can learn from each other. In addition, the role of the media is also quite important in disseminating and guiding the effective implementation of these criteria.

Thank you very much, sir!

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/du-lich/chia-khoa-thuc-day-du-lich-cong-dong-xanh-va-ben-vung-20251116165104716.htm