Garbage reduces competitiveness
Every night, when the tide recedes, the beaches are filled with trash. This is a common situation on beaches in Vietnam. Some places organize collection and cleaning, but many places still let the sea bring and then take away the trash created by humans. We went to Ha Long ( Quang Ninh ), Phu Quoc (Kien Giang) and saw plastic waste. Even in the capital Hanoi , tourists can easily see trash thrown in the wrong place. Many tourists expressed their annoyance because the trash affects their experience.
According to research by the Institute for Tourism Development Research (General Department of Tourism ), the number of tourists is increasing and the trend of mass tourism in Vietnam is increasing. has recently discharged a large amount of waste. In 2019, with more than 61 million tourists, plastic waste in Vietnam alone was 116,144 tons/year. Ha Long Bay (Quang Ninh), Sam Son (Thanh Hoa), Da Nang , Phu Quoc (Kien Giang) ... have been and are dealing with waste pollution. Dr. Nguyen Anh Tuan, Director of the Institute for Tourism Development Research, warned: "If there are no mitigation measures, the amount of plastic waste generated from tourism activities in 2030 alone will be about 3 times higher than in 2019. Meanwhile, the need for green-clean-beautiful tourism is a common need today. In the tourism ranking indexes, Vietnam's sustainability and environmental index is currently ranked lowest (94th)". Agreeing with that view, Mr. Vu The Binh, Chairman of the Vietnam Tourism Association, said: "The environment at tourist destinations is always a hot issue, becoming an obsession for local people, and is also one of the reasons why many international tourists never return."
Is green tourism difficult?
Amanoi Ninh Thuan (Ninh Thuan), Six Senses Ninh Van Bay (Khanh Hoa)... are resorts with the highest room sales value in Vietnam thanks to their philosophy of respecting the environment. Even domestic tourists are willing to pay high prices for places that focus on environmental friendliness. Canh Dong Restaurant (Quang Nam) operates according to a circular economic model so there is no waste. The restaurant's service prices are very high but it is always full... These examples show that an environmentally friendly place is very popular with tourists.
Sharing his local experience, Mr. Van Ba Son, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Quang Nam province, said: “Since 2019, Hoi An in particular and Quang Nam in general have had activities to reduce plastic waste. Starting with encouragement, then using sanctions. For example, if strong measures were not used, Cu Lao Cham would not be what it is today. We are one of the first localities in the country to build green-clean-beautiful criteria with 6 themes. After a year of implementation, mobilizing subjects to participate in applying the set of criteria, practicing greening tourism products, encouraging responsible tourism, we have received great support from the community, businesses, and people. Businesses see this as a trend to attract visitors because many tourists are willing to pay more for places that practice green criteria. This has contributed to the prestigious tourism awards that Hoi An has continuously won over the years. We see that ensuring the environment A green-clean-beautiful environment has a great impact on the number of visitors to Quang Nam as well as creating a green destination brand.
However, there are not many such green tourist destinations. Consulting, tourism businesses said that doing green tourism is quite expensive. For example, the cost of buying environmentally friendly products is always higher. Not to mention that businesses have to pay more for people to collect and process waste, or for example, using disposable plastic bottles at hotels is much more convenient than using glass bottles every day, which require someone to wash and fill with water... However, representing a group of 7 businesses producing environmentally friendly products, Mr. Trinh Duc Kien, Deputy Director of Ke Go Company Limited, informed: "The environmentally friendly products we sell are all made in Vietnam, not expensive, and do not cause financial burden for businesses. It's just that we are used to using very cheap products. However, we currently lack the connection to introduce the most to the Vietnamese market, mainly exporting."
Mr. Van Ba Son said: “There must be specific regulations and policies that focus on benefits to implement environmentally friendly tourism for the benefit of changing behavior. In addition, the State needs to have policies and mechanisms to encourage tourism product providers to implement green tourism. For example, in addition to rewards and incentives, the tourism industry can implement star ratings for accommodation establishments with additional green criteria...”. According to Mr. Vu The Binh: “If tourism businesses do their job well, they will attract tourists and tourists will also be more aware of protecting the environment because waste is something that is easy to see and easy to reflect. Therefore, this is something that must be done immediately and first. Therefore, the Vietnam Tourism Association is implementing the project "Reducing plastic waste in the tourism sector" aimed at businesses and people operating in the tourism sector... The project is being piloted at a number of restaurants, hotels, tourist areas and spots in the two provinces of Ninh Binh and Quang Nam and will be disseminated and replicated nationwide."
Article and photos: TUAN ANH
Source
Comment (0)