Green transformation and digital transformation contribute to sustainable tourism development

With the rapid development of the 4.0 industrial revolution, searching for information about trips in the digital environment is becoming more and more popular, and independent travel is also becoming more and more popular. Instead of buying package tours from travel agencies as before, a large number of tourists are forming the habit of searching and booking travel services online. This trend leads to the need to personalize travel experiences, in which tourists' demands for sustainable and responsible tourism are increasing. This reality requires tourism units and businesses to transform digitally as well as greenly to improve customer access and meet tourists' needs.

Digital transformation in tourism helps fuel the transition from traditional management, business and marketing models to more modern models based on digital data to improve efficiency, competitiveness and visitor experience. Meanwhile, green transformation with the implementation of solutions to reduce emissions, use natural resources effectively and economically is of particular importance for environmental protection and biodiversity protection. Although they have different connotations, according to experts, digital transformation and green transformation in tourism are closely linked. Digital transformation helps provide tools to promote green growth, and the implementation of green activities also helps promote the sustainable application of digital solutions.

Deputy Director of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism Nguyen Le Phuc affirmed that the formation of a synchronous and unified smart tourism ecosystem through digital transformation will create a strong driving force for the tourism industry to transform green, contributing to the implementation of Vietnam's commitment to Net Zero.

Recently, realizing the importance of digital transformation, many businesses and tourist destinations have promoted communication and promotion of products and services on websites and social networks; at the same time, invested in developing mobile applications, online booking systems, virtual reality experiences, customer care services via chatbots, etc. to meet the diverse needs of the market and enhance customer experience. In order to accelerate the digital transformation of tourism, the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism has developed the national tourism application "Vietnam Travel" - a powerful support tool for tourists from searching for information, booking services (air tickets, hotel rooms, sightseeing tickets, etc.), electronic payments, to supporting tourists in evaluating and providing feedback on quality; developing a Tourism Management and Business platform to create a digital environment to support the connection of entities: state management agencies, businesses, tourists; deploying a multimedia interpretation system... This not only helps optimize activities in the tourism sector but also helps improve the competitiveness and recognition of Vietnamese tourism. In the green transformation, our country's tourism has made a significant mark with the formation of green destinations, green accommodation facilities following the model of hotels without plastic waste, investing in renewable energy systems, smart resource management, introducing electric vehicles to transport guests... Along with that is the appearance of green tours that bring unique tourism experiences, contributing to building the image of a sustainable and responsible Vietnamese destination...

Obviously, green transformation and digital transformation are not only trends, but also inevitable requirements to make tourism develop quickly and sustainably. However, this "dual transformation" process in our country still faces many challenges, especially when both green transformation and digital transformation require a lot of investment in resources, while most Vietnamese tourism businesses are only small and medium-sized. That is the reason why Director of the Institute for Tourism Development Research Nguyen Anh Tuan proposed that there should be policies to encourage investors and businesses to invest in digital transformation, applying advanced, green and clean technology to tourism business to create green tourism products and services, thereby promoting the green consumption trend; at the same time, there should be a mechanism to support localities with tourism potential but facing difficulties in attracting investment. Sharing the same view, Master Dang Thi Giang, Institute for Regional Sustainable Development Studies, said that for businesses developing green tourism models and products, the State needs to have appropriate incentives for them to persistently pursue this direction, such as interest rate support packages or incentive mechanisms for green tourism development projects...

Recently, to address the fragmentation and lack of synchronization in tourism digital transformation, the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism issued a document guiding digital transformation in the tourism industry with the theme "Transforming awareness and unifying actions", and coordinated with many provinces and cities to organize training programs on digital transformation locally. However, in the field of green transformation, there are still no specific criteria or guidelines. Therefore, Vietnam needs to develop and promulgate regulations, standards, and criteria on tourism development towards green growth to apply nationwide to each tourist area and destination.

According to experts, both green transformation and digital transformation of tourism are based on the important foundation of science and technology, innovation and high-quality human resources. Therefore, investment in technology and people is the factor that needs to be given top priority in implementing the "dual transformation". To do so, Vietnam needs to be more agile in grasping advances in science and technology, promoting international cooperation in training,education , technology transfer... to always be ready in terms of technology and human resources to carry out green transformation, digital transformation, giving wings to Vietnamese tourism to fly high and far.

Source: https://nhandan.vn/chuyen-doi-xanh-va-chuyen-doi-so-gop-phan-phat-trien-du-lich-ben-vung-post857974.html