Hanoi (VNA) - The UNWTO considers Southeast Asia to 𒁏become the 4th largest international tourist attraction in the world and Vietnam is one of the 10 countries with the fastest tourism growth.

Vietnam is a country with great potential in developing green tourism with rich and diverse resources, many beautiful landscapes and historical sites. In line with the global trend, Vietnam's tourism industry has identified green tourism, sustainable tourism on the basis of green tourism as a development path in the next 10 years.

Sustainable instead of temporary tourism development

Defined to become a key economic sector, Vietnam's tourism industry depends much on the natural environment. Therefore, for sustainable development of tourism, it is inevitably to follow the direction of green tourism. Vietnam is one of the 10 countries having the longest coast compared to the total country’s territory with 3,260km, and also a country with 2,360 large and small rivers. Throwing away a bottle of water on a river in remote mountainous provinces like Dien Bien, Lai Chau, Ha Giang, or Dak Lak, Kon Tum ... then they finally drifted to the sea. All plastic waste in one way or another "find its way" into the river and then dump it into the sea. Therefore, each of us is not innocent in this story. To have a green and safe travel environment, practical action must be taken from now. Over the past few years, Vietnam's tourism has made breakthrough developments which, according to experts in the Vietnam Annual Tourism Report 2018, increased the number of international visitors to 22.9. percent (while the world average is 5-6 percent). This is a very high growth rate, making Vietnam a "hot spot" for global tourism. When becoming an attractive destination but without infrastructure and psychology, the tourism industry immediately faces the fast development of the system of hotels, restaurants, and entertainment places.

Time to treat the environment well

Green tourism is a type of tourism that operates in a way that minimizes the impact on the environment, making a positive contribution to biodiversity protection, using renewable energy and promoting natural and cultural heritage, developing environmentally friendly products. Since 2017, there has been a tour of kayaking combined with waste collection on the Hoai River introduced by Hoi An Kayak Tourism Company in Hoi An town, Quang Nam province. The tour’s cost is 10 USD / person, with four hours sailing for sightseeing and waste collection. Many domestic and international tourists initially joined in curiosity and were really excited. This meaningful activity also gradually attracts a large number of locals to take out the trash with tourists. Hoi An is also one of the pioneering localities in reducing plastic waste and building a friendly tourism environment. Sapo Hoi An restaurant in the past 5 years has converted about 300 liters of used cooking oil into kitchen soap, instead of discharging it directly into the environment.

Indigenous culture - Future of green tourism

Today, travelers tend to be more concerned about the quality of the destination. Guests will stay longer if the destination has many interesting experiencing activities. If previously, the trend of cruises has changed in recent years to resort in the mountains, to experience the local culture. New-generation tourists are environment-loving, respectful and environmentally responsible people, so the trend of finding unique cultural and ecological values is also becoming prevalent. With eco-friendly and close to nature destinations, people find their way back to their roots and culture. The travel trips of these people have created a new trend for green and environmentally friendly tourism. This requires local governments and businesses to keep up with that direction in developing green tourism. Mr. Ha Van Sieu, Deputy General Director of Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, said that developing green tourism and environmentally and socially responsible tourism is a trend, and is also a development direction of Vietnam's tourism requirements as well as development strategy directions./.