Hanoi (VNA) – Diversification of destinations and experiences is one way to solve excessive tourism in existing sites, and a way to promote sustainable tourism, said Nguyen Trung Khanh, Chairman of Vietnam National Authority o🐼f Tourism (VNAT).

Speaking at a symposium themed “Overtourism at Major Destinations and Development of Satellites – Vietnam and Japan Working Towards Sustainable Tourism” held in Hanoi on October 23, Khanh said that Vietnam and Japan are facing overtourism - one of the most detrimental challenges of global travel today. People living in key tourist areas suffer from overcrowding, traffic congestion, waste overload and noise pollution. He said that to move towards sustainable tourism and solve the problem of overcrowding, the development of satellite destinations is necessary and should come with planning and implementation management. To develop a satellite destination, it is necessary to determine the "core value" of the destination, which is the tourism resources that local people are proud of, as well as to consider the ability to connect traffic and form tourist destination routes, he said. Focus on exploiting niche markets to develop satellite destinations will create a distinctive trademark for promotional purposes. Satellite areas need to improve the quality of human resources, support the development of community tourism, improve the quality of services, and promote core tourism products. Deputy Ambassador of Japan to Vietnam Watanabe Shige, said that after the COVID-19 pandemic, Japan applied policies to attract international tourists and achieved positive results. However, some destinations in Japan became overcrowded. With successful promotional campaigns, too many tourists arrived at the same time. Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Doan Van Viet said that in Vietnam, overtourism is usually seen in localities and destinations with strong growth such as Sa Pa, Hanoi, Quang Ninh, Ninh Binh, Hoi An, Da Nang, Nha Trang, Da Lat or Ho Chi Minh City. The overcrowding at tourist centres is due to a variety of factors. These include the seasonality of the destinations, limitations in infrastructure, technical facilities, lack of planning and capacity management, and the shortage of auxiliary products. The problem has negatively impacted the environment, security, and society, as well as tourists’ experience. So, the problem can affect the national tourism image. At the event, a representative of the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) discussed the latest "inbound" tourism trends and efforts towards sustainable tourism in Japan. Accordingly, Japan is currently focusing on protecting and nurturing the environment. The country’s tourism authorities are implementing measures to control tourist flows to prevent overtourism and coordinate with the local community to promote tourism. Director of the Institute for Tourism Development Research (ITDR) under the VNTA, Dr. Nguyen Anh Tuan, said that developing satellite destinations helps reduce pressure on tourist centres.  The solution requires policies and a favourable investment environment, he said, adding that the linkage between the main and satellite destinations must be strengthened, particularly in terms of infrastructure./.