Developing green tourism: Not an easy task (Last article) - Green tourism

Developing green tourism is a very broad concept, but it can be understood as a type of minimizing the impact on the environment, protecting biodiversity and developing environmentally friendly green products. For green tourism to develop sustainably, it is necessary to start with the smallest actions, which can certainly be done and can be done immediately, so that Thanh Hoa is always a safe and attractive destination for tourists.

Ben En National Park (Nhu Thanh) aims to become a green tourism center of the province. Photo: Hoai Anh

From pilot models...

Green tourism is a sustainable tourism development direction, which is of particular interest to many localities in the country. Up to now, some provinces such as Ninh Binh, Quang Nam, Khanh Hoa ... have implemented green tourism models, initially bringing positive results. In particular, Ninh Binh is the locality selected by the Vietnam Tourism Association and the Institute of Strategy and Policy on Natural Resources and Environment to pilot the Project "Reducing plastic waste in Vietnam's tourism industry", sponsored by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). After nearly 2 years of implementation, at Thung Nham Eco-tourism Area and Trang An Eco-tourism Area, resources have been focused, investing in product development according to the green tourism model, harmoniously combining business activities with ecological environment protection, focusing on waste reduction. In particular, Thung Nham Eco-tourism Area has invested in technology to produce pure drinking water to serve tourists, minimizing the use of plastic bottled water. Besides, some tourism service businesses have replaced plastic products with environmentally friendly wooden, ceramic, and porcelain products...

Chairwoman of Ninh Binh Tourism Association, Duong Thi Thanh said: “Recently (October 15), Vietnam Tourism Association, UNDP and Ninh Binh Tourism Association organized a survey program to evaluate the final term of the project to reduce plastic waste in the tourism sector. After a period of implementation, tourism businesses registered to participate in the project have replaced plastic bags with paper bags, not used plastic straws, used glass bottled water, collected and classified waste at the source... However, the process of implementing the project has also revealed some difficulties and limitations such as: the implementation of reducing plastic waste inside and outside tourist areas has not been implemented synchronously, a part of tourists have the habit of using and disposing of plastic waste during their visit... Along with that, some solutions have not really brought convenience, suitable for tourism activities... Therefore, to develop green tourism, first of all focusing on reducing plastic waste, Localities need to have appropriate plans and solutions to bring about practical results."

Meanwhile, Quang Nam province - one of the two pilot localities of the Project "Reducing plastic waste in Vietnam's tourism industry" has been making positive steps in the journey of developing green tourism. Among the businesses participating in the project, Silk Sense Hoi An River Resort of this locality has become the first hotel in Vietnam to have no more plastic waste discharged into the environment and no more disposable plastic products. It is known that the plan to reduce plastic waste has been set by Silk Sense Hoi An River Resort with specific criteria, and at the same time, synchronously applied solutions in all service stages, ensuring the complete elimination of plastic waste at the hotel. This is the basis for tourism businesses nationwide, including Thanh Hoa to refer to and orient to build green tourism models suitable to the actual situation and conditions.

...to the things to do immediately

Thanh Hoa is a locality with diverse terrain (plains, mountains, midlands and coastal areas), with a long coastline, and many favorable natural conditions for developing green tourism. Aiming at the goal of sustainable tourism development, some destinations such as Ben En National Park (Nhu Thanh), Pu Luong Community Ecotourism Area (Ba Thuoc), Ma Village Community Ecotourism Area (Thuong Xuan) ... have been actively implementing many solutions to preserve the natural environment, conserve biodiversity associated with building green destinations.

Many solutions to protect the environment at Sam Son beach. Photo: Hoai Anh

If you have ever been to Ben En National Park, you will surely be impressed by the green - clean - beautiful landscape, especially the image of the staff of Ben En National Park Management Board always on duty to pick up trash and remind visitors to keep the environment clean. Director of Ben En National Park Management Board, Le Cong Cuong shared: “Here, every staff, employee and worker is exemplary, proactive in picking up trash and throwing trash in the right place. We always try to reduce the negative impacts of tourism activities on the environment by implementing the smallest actions like that. Along with that, we focus on propaganda work to raise visitors' awareness in protecting the landscape and natural environment. Only when we start with things that can be done immediately can strategic solutions to develop green tourism be deployed and implemented effectively”.

With the orientation of developing into one of the key green tourism destinations of the province, Ben En National Park will focus on developing a number of types of tourism such as: Ecotourism (camping in the forest, lakeside, cruising on the lake); community tourism (indigenous culture, cuisine); cultural - historical tourism (local scenic relics); resort - health care tourism (resorts, spa); sports, adventure tourism (on the lake, in the forest); environmental education (planting trees) ... Thereby, bringing visitors green experiences, close to nature. On the other hand, developing tourism activities will attract the participation of the community, joining hands to protect the environment and conserve biodiversity.

Not only in eco-tourism areas, coastal tourist areas such as Sam Son, Hai Tien, Hai Hoa, Bai Dong... have been making efforts to reduce plastic waste. Walking along Sam Son beach, visitors can easily see trash fish woven with giant iron nets, accompanied by the words "Do not litter in the ocean", or "Protect the ocean - protect the earth". Along with that, Sam Son Urban Environment and Tourism Services Joint Stock Company - the main unit in environmental sanitation work of Sam Son City always maintains a force to handle and collect trash in the beach area and trash drifting ashore, bringing a clean and beautiful beach landscape.

Community tourism expert Duong Minh Binh said: “Thanh Hoa is facing many favorable conditions to develop green tourism. In the immediate future, it is necessary to pay attention to developing green experiences and green destinations in community eco-tourism areas, as a premise to promote the development of green tourism in other key product lines of the province. The advantage of Thanh Hoa community tourism is that it is a "late born" tourism product, so lessons can be drawn from the "hot" growth in some northern provinces, from which the planning and implementation of the basic planning are deployed in the right direction. However, green tourism needs to focus on synchronously implementing important contents such as: green tourism management; production of green tourism products and services and green tourism consumption. That means it is necessary to create motivation to promote all parties involved, in which it is necessary to promote the responsibility of enterprises and create favorable conditions for enterprises to participate in developing green tourism at all scales from large to small. small".

Hoai Anh

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/phat-trien-du-lich-xanh-chuyen-khong-de-bai-cuoi-du-lich-xanh-hay-bat-dau-tu-nhung-dieu-nho-nhat-229012.htm