"Responsible Travel" - the new approach in tourism that can improve businesses income and create more jobs for people, was introduced for the first time in Vietnam on May 4 in Hue City.
Visitors showing their interest during a local tour in Phuoc Tich Village (Hue)
According to Dr. Ha Van Sieu, Director of the Vietnam Tourism Development Research Institute, the 3 key components that play a central role in Responsible Travel (RT) are the local people, the tour operator and the travellers.
Along with RT, the 3 types of tourism that still need developing are community tourism, tourism associated with poverty reduction and eco-cultural tourism. These are the things that will attract foreign visitors most, and if properly developed, will undoubtedly create many job opportunities for the local people.
There are two forms of business in RT. One is on the environmental aspect (recycling rubbish, developing systems to save energy, electricity and water, instructing visitors to protect the environment and buy "environmentally-friendly" products). The other is on the socio-economic aspect (recruiting and providing training for needy locals, issuing policies on food and goods purchased by visitors, involving local people in guiding services, carrying and transporting).
Mr. Le Hoang Viet, from the Energy Conservation Research and Development Centre mentioned, "If hotel businesses can pay more attention to energy-saving matters in areas such as the hotel lobby, rooms, kitchen, restaurants, washing and ironing services, entertainment and massage services, a huge amount of costs will be saved."
One example that has proved to be practical is the "Company doing business with needy people" model at Huyen Tran Culture Centre (Hue City). This model has created job opportunities for about 70 needy people. Among those 50 were trained as service staff (guides, security, cleaning and gardening staff), 15 trained to perform handicraft arts (making Vietnamese hats, frankincense and wooden items), and 5 trained to write calligraphy and practice meditation.
The model has had a direct impact on generating income for the local labour force, and increasing income (at least by 15%) for about 500 handicraft production households in the neighbouring areas (as main source of supply for the Culture Centre). This will ensure the recovery and conservation of these traditional villages as well as tourism products, thus stablising this new market.
In Nepal, the project was a success with about 70 responsible tourism activities created. Thousands of needy people were employed and their income significantly improved as a result.
In Vietnam, the homestay tourism service model has been tested and applied in Sapa (Lao Cai), Cu Lao Cham (Quang Nam), Phuoc Tich Village (Hue), and Chay Lap Hamlet (Quang Binh). Eco-tourism has been used in Ha Long Bay (Quang Ninh), Can Gio Mangrove Forest (HCMC), and Tra Que Vegetable Village (Hoi An). This movement has opened up numerous positive directions for both businesses and local people.
After surveying 5 main tourism locations in Vietnam, (Hanoi, HCMC, Hoi An, Ha Long and Hue), Mr. Phil Harman, Senior Advisor of the Netherlands Development Organisation (SNV) in Vietnam said, "Visitors are now becoming more aware and concerned about other matters relating to tourism such as littering rubbish in public places, water and noise pollution. 97 percent of tourists, when interviewed, said that they were willing to pay more for a responsible travel holiday that is environmentally conscious and brings about more benefits for needy local people. Specifically, international and Vietnamese tourists will contribute respectively USD 47 and USD 27 more for each trip if RT service is included in the tour."
A great tip in RT: local people's friendliness is highly valued among tourists. In the survey done by the SNV, Hanoi is the place that visitors are the most displeased with. On the contrary, Sapa tops the list as the most favourite place to visit in Vietnam, thus Sapa is seeing an increase in number of tourists willing to pay more to shop, eat and stay for longer periods.
At the end of the conference introducing this new tourism method, 30 tourism businesses from Hanoi, Hoi An, Thua Thien - Hue and Quang Tri, were eager to participate in this pilot project "Responsible Travel in Vietnam" beginning May 2010 to December 2010 with SNV as the project manager.
Along with RT, the 3 types of tourism that still need developing are community tourism, tourism associated with poverty reduction and eco-cultural tourism. These are the things that will attract foreign visitors most, and if properly developed, will undoubtedly create many job opportunities for the local people.
There are two forms of business in RT. One is on the environmental aspect (recycling rubbish, developing systems to save energy, electricity and water, instructing visitors to protect the environment and buy "environmentally-friendly" products). The other is on the socio-economic aspect (recruiting and providing training for needy locals, issuing policies on food and goods purchased by visitors, involving local people in guiding services, carrying and transporting).
Mr. Le Hoang Viet, from the Energy Conservation Research and Development Centre mentioned, "If hotel businesses can pay more attention to energy-saving matters in areas such as the hotel lobby, rooms, kitchen, restaurants, washing and ironing services, entertainment and massage services, a huge amount of costs will be saved."
One example that has proved to be practical is the "Company doing business with needy people" model at Huyen Tran Culture Centre (Hue City). This model has created job opportunities for about 70 needy people. Among those 50 were trained as service staff (guides, security, cleaning and gardening staff), 15 trained to perform handicraft arts (making Vietnamese hats, frankincense and wooden items), and 5 trained to write calligraphy and practice meditation.
The model has had a direct impact on generating income for the local labour force, and increasing income (at least by 15%) for about 500 handicraft production households in the neighbouring areas (as main source of supply for the Culture Centre). This will ensure the recovery and conservation of these traditional villages as well as tourism products, thus stablising this new market.
In Nepal, the project was a success with about 70 responsible tourism activities created. Thousands of needy people were employed and their income significantly improved as a result.
In Vietnam, the homestay tourism service model has been tested and applied in Sapa (Lao Cai), Cu Lao Cham (Quang Nam), Phuoc Tich Village (Hue), and Chay Lap Hamlet (Quang Binh). Eco-tourism has been used in Ha Long Bay (Quang Ninh), Can Gio Mangrove Forest (HCMC), and Tra Que Vegetable Village (Hoi An). This movement has opened up numerous positive directions for both businesses and local people.
After surveying 5 main tourism locations in Vietnam, (Hanoi, HCMC, Hoi An, Ha Long and Hue), Mr. Phil Harman, Senior Advisor of the Netherlands Development Organisation (SNV) in Vietnam said, "Visitors are now becoming more aware and concerned about other matters relating to tourism such as littering rubbish in public places, water and noise pollution. 97 percent of tourists, when interviewed, said that they were willing to pay more for a responsible travel holiday that is environmentally conscious and brings about more benefits for needy local people. Specifically, international and Vietnamese tourists will contribute respectively USD 47 and USD 27 more for each trip if RT service is included in the tour."
A great tip in RT: local people's friendliness is highly valued among tourists. In the survey done by the SNV, Hanoi is the place that visitors are the most displeased with. On the contrary, Sapa tops the list as the most favourite place to visit in Vietnam, thus Sapa is seeing an increase in number of tourists willing to pay more to shop, eat and stay for longer periods.
At the end of the conference introducing this new tourism method, 30 tourism businesses from Hanoi, Hoi An, Thua Thien - Hue and Quang Tri, were eager to participate in this pilot project "Responsible Travel in Vietnam" beginning May 2010 to December 2010 with SNV as the project manager.
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