Tourists get water from a free drinking water dispenser sponsored by the Hue Project - Plastic-Free Cities in Central Vietnam

Step by step reduce plastic

At the Thuy Bieu eco-community tourism site (Thuan Hoa district), we were impressed by the efforts of local people in joining hands to reduce plastic. Many families have used glass bottles to store water instead of plastic bottles; replaced disposable shower gel and shampoo bottles with large bottles for long-term use. There are also activities to collect, classify and treat waste according to regulations. Ms. Tran Thi Loan, a community tourism household in Thuy Bieu shared: "Through training activities, we are aware of the harmful effects of plastic waste and want to join hands for a safe and friendly tourism environment."

Hue is one of the localities that is very interested in reducing plastic waste in the tourism industry. In October 2023, the Department of Tourism issued a plan to reduce plastic waste in the local tourism industry for the period 2023 - 2025. One of the important goals is to reduce the use of plastic products, replace and gradually switch to ban some single-use plastic products in tourism businesses, focusing on 207 hotels, 73 travel businesses, service establishments that meet standards for serving tourists, and tourist attractions of different types.

Tourists cycle and practice reducing plastic at a tourist spot in Thuy Bieu

In mid-March 2025, the Department of Tourism continued to coordinate with the Hue Project - Plastic-reducing City in Central Vietnam and local authorities to organize training to raise awareness and practice plastic reduction at community tourism sites in Quang Loi commune, Quang Dien district.

Along with the responsible staff, local associations and organizations, the training subjects also included village heads, representatives of community tourism cooperatives, restaurant businesses, and businesses related to the tourism and service sectors. The training content not only provided knowledge on plastic reduction, but also discussed and exchanged practical experiences on identifying sources of plastic waste generated during business operations at tourist destinations; identified methods and measures that can be applied to minimize the generation and loss of plastic waste into the environment during business operations at tourist destinations. After the training program, a number of business units signed a commitment to take specific actions to change the behavior of using plastic products at the unit.

Ms. Hoang Ngoc Tuong Van, Director of the Hue Project - Plastic-reducing urban area in Central Vietnam, said that in fact, through coordination activities with the Department of Tourism, the Tourism Association and localities and units, the implementation of plastic reduction practices at many restaurants and hotels in Hue has had many positive results. Up to now, many hotels have registered for a pilot project on planning, implementing and monitoring plastic reduction actions. In addition to the plastic-reducing tourist destination in Thuy Bieu launched in December 2023, the project in coordination with the local tourism industry has been implementing the construction of plastic-reducing tourist destinations in Phu An commune (Phu Vang district), Quang Loi commune (Quang Dien district), Thuy Thanh commune (Huong Thuy town).

Change awareness, join hands to act

In addition to the encouraging results, "erasing" RTN in the tourism community in general is not easy and requires perseverance as well as a long-term strategy. In reality, many hotels still use plastic bottles when organizing conferences. Because using items such as glass is very difficult, even dangerous, while there are no optimal items to replace them... At many tourist destinations in the city, single-use plastic in tourism is still abundant, from plastic bottles, straws to many other items.

According to the representative of the Hue Project - Plastic-reducing urban area in Central Vietnam, the participation of units in plastic reduction is still limited due to the lack of single-use plastic replacement products suitable for economic conditions and business goals; at the same time, the balance between economic and environmental benefits has not been focused on. To promote effectiveness, in addition to propaganda, it is necessary to provide practical alternative solutions, organize visits to successful models and maintain experience consulting to ensure the commitment of units to reduce plastic.

According to the Department of Tourism, the most important issue in reducing plastic waste in tourism is awareness. The Department of Tourism focuses on coordinating with the Tourism Association and the Hue Project - Plastic-reducing City in Central Vietnam to organize training courses to raise awareness of plastic waste reduction in the tourism industry; integrating propaganda work and raising awareness of the harmful effects of plastic waste through knowledge update courses for domestic and international tour guides. The Community Tourism Association coordinates training for managers/business owners at community tourism sites and cultural tourism sites.

The tourism sector also continues to mobilize and monitor units implementing solutions to reduce plastic waste at hotels, travel agencies and tourist destinations. Implement plans to reduce plastic waste at hotels; develop and operate tours that do not use disposable plastic products, tourist destinations that do not use disposable plastic products; connect and strengthen the development of activities for the Hue City Plastic Reduction Action Partner Group; promote the promotion of tourist destinations that reduce plastic waste.

Article and photos: HUU PHUC

Source: https://huengaynay.vn/du-lich/giam-rac-thai-nhua-trong-du-lich-bat-dau-tu-nhan-thuc-152425.html