Localities, organizations and tourism businesses have proposed many solutions and criteria to reduce the problem of plastic waste, aiming at sustainable tourism development.
Current Status of Plastic Waste
Currently, most types of plastic are not biodegradable and take hundreds to thousands of years to decompose. In the environment, plastic decomposes into microplastics, polluting water sources, soil and entering the food chain, endangering the lives of about 800 species of animals in the ocean.
In the tourism industry, plastic waste not only pollutes the view but also affects the experience of tourists. This leads to a decrease in the number of visitors and tourism revenue, affecting the livelihoods of millions of people who depend on this industry.
Goal 2025: Tourism Free of Single-Use Plastic Products
At the “Workshop on Plastic Waste Reduction in Tourism Sector 2024” held at Trang An and Thung Nham Eco-tourism Area (Ninh Binh), Mr. Vu Quoc Tri – General Secretary of Vietnam Tourism Association shared about the criteria for recognizing plastic waste-free tourism businesses.
The main goal is that by 2025, 100% of tourist areas, accommodation establishments, and hotels will not use non-degradable plastic bags and single-use plastic products. To achieve this, Vietnam Tourism Association has set out a number of tasks such as developing, disseminating and monitoring the implementation of policies on plastic waste reduction; deploying a set of criteria for recognizing plastic waste-free tourism businesses and applying plastic waste management; building and developing green tourism products; promoting tourism promotion associated with plastic waste reduction.
Expanding the Plastic Waste Reduction Model
Currently, Ninh Binh is one of two localities piloting the project “Reducing plastic waste in Vietnam’s tourism industry” funded by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), chaired by the Vietnam Tourism Association and the Institute of Strategy and Policy on Natural Resources and Environment.
The evaluation results show that the propaganda work to raise awareness of environmental protection in Ninh Binh is focused; solutions and initiatives to reduce plastic waste are flexibly applied in a number of tourist areas and spots.
At Thung Nham Tourist Area, investment has focused on developing infrastructure combined with environmental protection, landscape and waste reduction. The tourist area has invested in technology to produce pure drinking water with a capacity of 500 m³/day and night, meeting the needs of tourists and minimizing the use of plastic bottles. In addition, the tourist area also promotes and trains staff on environmental protection and replacing plastic products with environmentally friendly wood, ceramics, and porcelain.
At Trang An Eco-tourism Area, propaganda and training on environmental protection and plastic waste reduction are also focused on. However, project implementation still faces difficulties such as high investment costs, lack of synchronization, and tourists carrying plastic waste on their journey.
Conclusion
To reduce plastic waste, it is necessary to deploy applications and models to raise awareness of environmental protection, and at the same time train tourism staff to become pioneers. This will help each destination become a model for reducing plastic waste, contributing to the development of green and sustainable tourism.
With the active participation of the tourism industry, businesses, and tourist areas, awareness of people and tourists on reducing plastic waste and protecting the environment has been raised. The initial results of the project “Reducing plastic waste in Vietnam’s tourism industry” in Ninh Binh will be the basis for replicating this model nationwide.
