Recently, the Vietnam Tourism Association in collaboration with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) held a workshop to launch the project Reducing plastic waste in Vietnam's tourism sector, implemented from January 1-2023. until June 2024. The project's objective is to promote plastic waste reduction activities in the tourism sector, contributing to environmental protection and tourism development in order to achieve the sustainable development goals of the tourism industry, contributing to the country's sustainable economic development goals.

In recent years, the growth of the tourism industry has contributed to economic restructuring and contributed to the overall growth of the whole economy. However, the activities of tourists also contribute to the increase of plastic waste in the environment. The problem of plastic waste pollution, if not resolved, will affect the goal of sustainable tourism development, conservation and biodiversity, especially rare and precious species, to the beauty of the landscape and the environment. and thereby affect the image, attractiveness and competitiveness of Vietnam's tourism industry.

Recognizing this problem, the Vietnam Tourism Association has actively mobilized resources to support member businesses to solve the problem of plastic waste. The association proposed the project towards the goal of reducing plastic waste in the tourism industry and was approved by UNDP for funding for implementation in two years 2023 and 2024.

The project will be implemented in 2 years from 2023-2024 with 3 main components: Communication to raise awareness about reducing plastic waste in the field of tourism; Pilot application of solutions and initiatives to reduce plastic waste at some tourist sites/spots in Ninh Binh and Quang Nam, pilot application and promulgate "Criteria for recognition of zero-waste tourism enterprises". plastic"; Develop an Action Plan on reducing plastic waste in the tourism industry and apply plastic waste management to tourism businesses.

Thu Trang