Tourists' demand for green travel experiences is increasing.
In today’s era, environmental awareness is becoming increasingly important, especially for popular tourist destinations. According to Mr. Phan Xuan Thanh, Chairman of the Quang Nam Province Tourism Association, in Hoi An, Quang Nam, with millions of tourists flocking in each year, the demand for green tourism experiences is increasing, today’s tourists are not just those who want to explore the beauty of a tourist destination but also those who are deeply aware of their impact on the environment.
“They prioritize environmentally responsible travel experiences, engage in educational activities, and support tourism businesses committed to environmental protection.
In addition, some tourists also seek experiences close to nature and local culture, instead of energy-consuming tourism activities. This not only helps tourists connect more strongly with nature but also contributes to preserving local culture," Mr. Phan Xuan Thanh shared.
Tourists' demand for green travel experiences is increasing.
The Chairman of the Quang Nam Provincial Tourism Association also said that the development and implementation of green technologies in the tourism industry in Quang Nam province plays an important role in improving the business performance of tourism enterprises and at the same time minimizing negative impacts on the environment and local communities, thereby creating an attractive and sustainable tourism environment, positioning Quang Nam as a Green Tourism destination.
Create opportunities to enhance visitor experience and value
As one of the pioneers and experienced in practicing Green Tourism, Mr. Tran Thai Do, General Director of Silk Sense Resort said that in the era of globalization and increased awareness of environmental protection, green tourism has become a sustainable development strategy of many businesses.
Silk Sense Hoi An River Resort is one of 11 resorts that meet the criteria in the Green Tourism Criteria Set of Quang Nam Province and is also the earliest unit to practice "Hotel without plastic waste".
According to Mr. Tran Thai Do, Silk Sense is currently implementing a zero-plastic waste hotel, achieving many results and receiving positive reviews from tourists.
Sharing his experience in implementing a zero plastic waste hotel, Mr. Tran Thai Do said that the hotel started by changing the habits of the hotel staff. The staff are not only consumers of disposable plastic products but also the image of the hotel in the eyes of customers, so it is necessary for the staff to practice zero plastic waste.
As for customers, they are an important factor in implementing a plastic-waste-free hotel, because they are both the beneficiaries of a plastic-waste-free environment and sometimes the ones who leave plastic waste behind during their stay.
"Customers are the most important subjects of the hotel. They must be served according to their requests and also be the ones to convey the good and bad messages of the hotel. Therefore, calling for customers' understanding and companionship is very necessary," said Mr. Tran Thai Do.
Silk Sense has consulted many documents from the Vietnam Tourism Association, Quang Nam province, SSTP Switzerland and other prestigious organizations and has built a set of standards for plastic waste-free hotels at Silk Sense Hoi An River Resort with 60 criteria, to gradually solve the challenges.
The hotel is covered in green. Silk Sense Hoi An River Resort is covered in green.
According to Mr. Tran Thai Do, by eliminating or minimizing the use of plastic, the hotel has reduced the amount of plastic waste released into the environment. Specifically, in 2023, the hotel reduced more than 80,000 disposable plastic bottles and more than 10 tons of plastic waste into the environment.
Eliminating or minimizing the use of plastic products, optimizing the use of resources and reusing... helps hotels save costs in purchasing and waste management, minimizing operating and maintenance costs.
"When implementing policies on sustainability and zero plastic waste, the hotel was also concerned about inconvenience or reactions from customers. However, surprisingly, customers staying at Silk Sense Hoi An River Resort were very willing to implement environmental policies on zero plastic waste policies issued by the hotel with a spirit of cooperation and joy. 100% of customers were satisfied and interested in green tourism products, environmental protection policies, specifically the resort's zero plastic waste hotel policy," said Mr. Tran Thai Do.
It can be seen that implementing Green Tourism is not only a lever for sustainable development and environmental protection, but also a key to opening up opportunities for brand positioning. Implementing Green Tourism creates opportunities to enhance experiences and values for tourists, especially after Covid-19, sustainable tourism, caring for the environment and health is an important trend.
There must be cooperation.
Phung Quang Thang, Permanent Vice President of the Vietnam Tourism Association, said that the green transformation process in tourism is long-term and needs to start from small things. Along with that, joining hands to build green destinations is very important. To effectively transform green tourism and develop sustainably, it is necessary to have the joint efforts of local authorities, businesses and people.
"Localities and units need to take more specific actions, plan areas for tourism development, invest in infrastructure and equipment to minimize activities that cause environmental pollution. In addition, propaganda for people needs to shift from awareness to action, and properly treat cultural resources and heritage," Mr. Phung Quang Thang shared.
To effectively transform green tourism and sustainable development requires the joint efforts of the whole community.
To create momentum, promote strong tourism development, green transformation for sustainable development, Mr. Nguyen Hai Ha, Vice Chairman of the Quang Ninh Provincial Tourism Association, said that the State needs to have incentive mechanisms to encourage and support investment in green and sustainable tourism development projects.
In addition, it is necessary to soon develop and promulgate the Action Program of the Tourism Industry to implement the National Strategy on Green Growth for the period 2021-2030, with a vision to 2050, issued under Decision 1658/QD-TTg dated October 1, 2021. Focus on tasks of developing tourism in a green and sustainable direction; promulgate a set of national green tourism criteria for each tourism sector according to international common criteria, while at the same time being suitable to the actual conditions of Vietnam./.
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