Experts at the seminar "Green tourism - environment - health" recently held in Ho Chi Minh City said that green tourism associated with environment and health is an inevitable direction for sustainable development.
Lots of growth potential
At the seminar "Green tourism - environment - health" recently held in Ho Chi Minh City, tourism experts said that green tourism associated with environment and health is an inevitable direction for sustainable development. However, to turn potential into reality and build a distinct national brand, this "greening" journey requires synchronous and drastic participation from management agencies, businesses, experts and tourists themselves.
In the context of society facing increasing pollution, climate change and life pressure, the need to return to nature to "heal" and regenerate energy has become urgent. This is not just a subjective feeling but has been proven through a clear change in tourist behavior.
According to Mr. Nguyen Trung Khanh, Director of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, the green consumption trend is leading the market. “About 34% of tourists are willing to pay more to stay at establishments that apply green programs and about 50% are willing to choose travel businesses that contribute to the development of community tourism. This is an opportunity for businesses to increase customers and revenue,” Mr. Nguyen Trung Khanh cited a research report.
Mr. Nguyen Trung Khanh, Director of Vietnam National Administration of Tourism shared at the workshop.
Taking a deeper look at social values, Dr. Pham Thai Son, Deputy Head of the Tourism Department of Khanh Hoa Branch (Ton Duc Thang University) said that green tourism brings immeasurable values. “Green tourism brings people back to the fresh, quiet nature to regenerate energy, relieve stress and restore mental health. Moreover, it also inspires love for the environment, enhances social responsibility and contributes to sustainable local economic development without having to trade off the environment,” Dr. Pham Thai Son analyzed.
From the foundation of green tourism, experts believe that Vietnam can completely develop more advanced products such as "therapeutic tourism". Dr. Pham Thai Son affirmed: "Vietnam possesses dual advantages from diverse natural resources and profound traditional culture. Just integrating activities such as meditation, yoga, traditional medicine, health care... and clean cuisine into tourism products will increase its competitive position with international tourism".
To exploit this potential, he proposed a systematic roadmap, including investing in specialized infrastructure, developing high-quality human resources (therapists, doctors, chefs, etc.), building unique products and closely linking with the healthcare sector. “Especially after the COVID-19 pandemic, therapeutic tourism is a trend with the potential to become a high-end and sustainable tourism product that will help businesses create a distinct competitive advantage,” Dr. Pham Thai Son emphasized.
Dr. Pham Thai Son, Deputy Head of Tourism Department, Khanh Hoa branch (Ton Duc Thang University) discussed at the workshop.
A clear demonstration of the market shift is the way pioneering businesses are taking action. Mr. Nguyen Duong Trung Hieu, General Director of Vietourist Holdings Joint Stock Company (VTD), said: “Our company is focusing on building in-depth tourism products to meet the ‘healing’ needs of tourists.
Our trips not only include yoga, meditation, and bathing in natural streams, but also allow visitors to enjoy local, clean, green food. We are investing in real projects such as eco-tourism areas and a project to plant more than 417 hectares of forest in Gia Lai where visitors can contribute a tree themselves. We hope to minimize waste and combine community tourism so that visitors can truly integrate and leave good memories at the end of the trip.”
Need for synchronous coordination
Despite the clear potential and determination, Vietnam's journey to develop green tourism still faces many systemic barriers. From the perspective of state management, Mr. Nguyen Trung Khanh frankly pointed out the limitations that need to be overcome, such as weak infrastructure at many destinations, especially waste treatment and clean water systems; limited capacity and awareness of small and medium enterprises, lack of resources and not considering this as a competitive advantage; green tourism products are still fragmented and spontaneous, lacking competitiveness; ineffective communication and promotion work; lack of widely recognized criteria and standards for green tourism; and finally, the quality of specialized human resources in green tourism is still very limited.
To address the above challenges, experts agree that a comprehensive solution is needed, requiring the participation of all parties.
In terms of policy, Director Nguyen Trung Khanh proposed macro solutions such as: Reviewing policies to encourage priority investment in infrastructure, developing human resource training programs, issuing preferential policies on capital and finance for businesses, enhancing digital transformation and promoting advertising...
Overview of the event.
From an educational perspective, Dr. Pham Thai Son emphasized the role of each link in the value chain. “For green tourism to not be just a temporary trend, there needs to be a coordinated participation of all relevant parties. State management agencies need to guide and encourage businesses to create local community products, businesses need to voluntarily participate in 'greening' their operations, and educational institutions need to integrate knowledge into teaching tourism students,” Dr. Pham Thai Son suggested.
In addition, experts also emphasize that tourists need to change their role, not just as service beneficiaries but also as active participants in the value creation process. This means that tourists will work with businesses and the community to create more meaningful and quality experiences.
The journey of "greening" the tourism industry, especially towards the environment and health, is not an individual issue but a shared responsibility to build a sustainable, humane and truly different national tourism brand in the eyes of international friends.
Source: https://bvhttdl.gov.vn/xanh-hoa-la-huong-di-tat-yeu-de-phat-trien-ben-vung-nganh-du-lich-20250703140324232.htm
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