Ba Ria - Vung Tau (VNA) – Various measures are being taken by authorities and businesses in the southern province of Ba Ria - Vung Tau to keep up with the green tourism trend to attract more travellers.

Con Dao is a relatively pristine island and a magnet for domestic and international visitors. Setting foot there, tourists can indulge in nature and enjoy completely green services such as coral sightseeing diving, cycling around the island, mountaineering, or exploring the Con Dao National Park.

In 2023, the number of visitors to this island increased by nearly 12% from a year earlier to 586,000, including 17,000 foreigners.

Hassan Sabree, manager of Six Senses Con Dao, said that staying at his resort, many tourists enjoy recycling soap and candle from used items, visiting a water bottling facility and chicken and vegetable farms, and the untouched beauty of nature.

Meanwhile, Melia Ho Tram Beach Resort in Xuyen Moc district has said no to plastic products, its manager Nishant Uniyal noted, adding that all items used here are environmentally friendly.

The resort has also regularly organised beach clean-ups to ensure sustainable development and great eco-experiences for tourists. Waste is collected and classified properly, and the organic waste is transformed into fertiliser for the plants grown here.

Pham Ngoc Hai, Chairman of the Ba Ria - Vung Tau Tourism Association, said the green tourism model is being implemented well in Con Dao, with communications promoted to raise public awareness of environmental protection and investment attraction. Aware of the vital role of green and sustainable tourism development, most of the local travel companies now pay great attention to this issue.

Dr. Nguyen Anh Tuan, Director of the Institute for Tourism Development Research under the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism, held that it’s now time for localities and businesses to access global development trends and demand to change their working methodologies.

He said “green” broadly means completely sustainable development that covers not only green economic, social, and environmental aspects but also greenhouse gas emissions reduction, efficient use of resources, and modern technology application to adopt sustainability-oriented business practices.

Ba Ria - Vung Tau boasts sufficient conditions and capability for green tourism and sustainable tourism growth. The local tourism community, from such long-famous places as Ho Tram, Ho Coc, Binh Chau to emerging ones like Suoi Rao Ecolodge, Dat Rong - Dinh Gia Trang, and Suoi Rao Forest, now pay specific attention to environmentally friendly practices.

Le Ngoc Khanh, Vice Chairman of the Ba Ria - Vung Tau provincial People’s Committee, said the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has yet to issue green tourism criteria. However, central Quang Nam province has devised its own criteria, and the southern province Tau will base on this to work out its own to ensure compliance with the Government’s directions.

Director of the provincial Tourism Department Trinh Hang affirmed that green tourism is a popular trend around the world. Vietnam is also working to keep up with this trend, and Ba Ria - Vung Tau is taking center stage on the issue as the major beach resort closest to Ho Chi Minh City.

In 2023, the province welcomed over 14 million tourist arrivals, up 15.27% year on year. It earned about 14.68 billion VND (597,300 USD) from tourists, up 12.15%, including 5.18 trillion VND recorded at accommodation establishments and 300 billion VND from travel services, statistics show.

For 2024, it targets 15.5 million tourist arrivals and nearly 16.5 trillion VND in tourism revenue, respectively rising 10.19% and 12.35% from last year./.