Workshop seeks to promote responsible tourism and wildlife conservation
Preventing tourists from buying ivory products and endangered wild species is essential, especially in the context that Vietnam has fully reopened its door to international tourists and the tourism industry is on the way to recovery, heard a workshop held in Hanoi on June 22.
Van Long Nature Reserve in the northern province of Ninh Binh. (Photo: baoninhbinh.org.vn)
Hanoi (VNA) – Preventing tourists from buying ivoryproducts and endangered wild species is essential, especially in the contextthat Vietnam has fully reopened its door to international tourists and the tourism industryis on the way to recovery, heard a workshop held in Hanoi on June 22.
The event, which was organised by World Wide Fund for Nature in Vietnam incoordination with Hanoi’s Department of Tourism and Hanoi TourismAssociation, aims to provide knowledge about responsible tourism and wildlifeconservation for 150 tour guides and travel operators.
Vietnam currently has 33 national parks, 57 nature reserves,13 habitat conservation areas, 53 landscape protection zones and 9 biospherereserves.
Participants were provided with information that was expectedto help identify risks related to brokering and trading wildlife products.
Some good models and lessons on responsible tourism associated with natureand wildlife preservation in the world and Vietnam were also shared at theworkshop, thereby helping to change travellers’ behaviours and refrain from buying or selling products from endangered species. They also exchangedviews related to this regard.
Nguyen Dao Ngoc Van from WWF-Vietnam said tourism development has increased the number of visitors to tourist attractions, which in turn hikes the demandfor resources, putting pressure on the environment and ecosystems.
Some tourists tend to prefer buy𒁃ing products derived fromwildlife, thus, leading to the loss of natural landscapes and importanteco-tourism sites, she said, adding that this is also the resource that thetourism industry is relying on to attract domestic and foreign tourists.
Van said she hoped that tour guides and travel operators will spread the commitment to protect elephants and wildlife to visitors, helping them to be aware of the need to preserve these species. The workshop was of practical significance in the contextthat the tourism industry is developing towards environmental, economic andsocial responsibility, said Trinh Thi My Nghe, Vice Chairwoman of the Hanoi Tourism Association./.
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Van Long Nature Reserve in the northern province of Ninh Binh. (Photo: baoninhbinh.org.vn) 
