On September 27, at the ceremony to mark this year’s World Tourism Day themed “Green tourism and investment” in Riyadh, the capital city of Saudi Arabia, ministers and tourism agency leaders of 125 countries and territories around the world have committed to sustainable tourism development, and supporting the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO).

Visitors conquer the Ta Nang – Phan Dung trekking path. (Photo: Van Bao)

With the attendance of the Director of the National Department of Tourism of Vietnam at the celebration of the World Tourism Day, Vietnam affirmed its goals and commitment to develop tourism in a green and sustainable manner which were stated in national tourism development projects and strategies. Vietnam's tourism development strategy until 2020, with a vision to 2030, provides orientation on “developing green tourism, linking tourism activities with preserving and promoting values of natural resources and protecting the environment".

In fact, over the past two years, Vietnam has chosen themes related to "green tourism" for the National Tourism Year, including "Quang Nam - Green Tourism Destination" in 2022 and “"Binh Thuan - Green Convergence" in 2023, aiming to spread the image of a safe, green and sustainable tourism in Vietnam.

The tourism sector and localities with famous destinations in Vietnam have launched a series of tourism products associated with natural landscapes, traditional culture, and sustainable exploitation of world cultural heritages and biosphere reserves.

The next specific actions towards the goal of green tourism have been initially seriously implemented by businesses, tourism management agencies, and localities in Vietnam.

Most recently, on September 28, the Vietnam Tourism Association launched a competition in Hanoi on designing apps to manage plastic waste in the tourism industry, aiming to find software that tourism management agencies, localities, establishments, and services can use. Tourism businesses can register and participate in implementing the set of criteria for tourism businesses with zero plastic waste.

According to Chairman of the Vietnam Tourism Association Vu The Binh, the growth of the tourism industry has contributed to economic restructuring, with the growth of the whole economy. However, the tourists’ activities also contribute to increasing plastic waste into the environment. The project "Reducing plastic waste in tourism in Vietnam", which was developed by the Vietnam Tourism Association, was approved by the UNDP for funding during the 2023-2024 period.

Previously, on September 26, the Quang Nam Provincial Department of Tourism coordinated with the forestry sector and the World Wide Fund for Nature to organise a seminar themed “Responsible tourism associated with nature and wildlife conservation” to raise awareness and understanding of “responsible tourism with the natural environment” among travel agencies, while promoting interdisciplinary participation and cooperation in nature conservation and wildlife protection for sustainable tourism development.

Within the framework of the forum, 24 tourism businesses in Quang Nam Province signed a commitment to join hands to conserve wild animals to preserve the ecosystem and protect sustainable development.

Clearly, the specific actions mentioned above further affirm the consistent policy and direct the unified actions, and connect all localities, destinations, businesses, and stakeholders in the Vietnamese tourism industry together to develop in a green and sustainable manner.