Responsible tourism associated with nature and wildlife conservation

On September 26, the Responsible Tourism Workshop associated with nature and wildlife conservation took place in Hoi An city ( Quang Nam ) with representatives of more than 50 tourism businesses, tour operators, managers, and local leaders attending.

The event was organized by the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism in coordination with the Management Board of the Sustainable Forest Management and Biodiversity Conservation Project of Quang Nam province and the World Wildlife Fund in Vietnam (WWF).

According to statistics from the Vietnam Tourism Association, the country currently has 33 national parks, 57 nature reserves, 13 species and habitat conservation areas, 53 landscape protection areas and 9 biosphere reserves. Quang Nam alone has one national park, two species and habitat conservation areas. This is considered a potential opportunity for tourism businesses to build and develop tours specific to each locality and region. Each year, ecotourism activities in special-use forests attract more than 2 million visitors, earning more than 100 billion VND, contributing positively to the development of the locality.

Conference scene.

Mr. Hoang Hoa Quan, Vietnam National Tourism Administration shared that for responsible tourism to be associated with wildlife and nature conservation, tourism activities must contribute to economic development and create livelihoods and income for the community. Tourism activities must contribute to protecting heritage values, preserving ecosystems, and reducing direct discharge into the natural environment.

In Quang Nam, in 2023, the tourism industry aims to attract 7 million visitors, with tourism revenue reaching 9,000 billion VND. To achieve this goal, in addition to solutions to promote the tourism industry to recover and accelerate after the pandemic, the province is developing green tourism, community tourism, eco-tourism, and responsible tourism associated with nature and wildlife protection, which are also being implemented by the locality, spreading more and more widely to the business community and residents.

According to the Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Quang Nam, Van Ba Son, responsible tourism associated with the conservation of nature and wildlife is the foundation for sustainable tourism development. To achieve this humane goal, tourism businesses, tourists and the community must change their awareness of living habits, change their awareness of tourists' needs to hunt wild animals for food, decoration and souvenirs. Therefore, the goal of developing tourism associated with the conservation of nature and wildlife is an important content that the delegates attending the workshop focused on discussing in order to harmonize the interests of the tourism business community, travel agencies, destinations and tourists.

Based on the analysis of the harmful impacts and risks that wildlife is facing through the negative side of tourism activities, tourists, and the negative impacts of trapping, trading and consuming wildlife, delegates proposed solutions in a harmonious and sustainable manner, avoiding conflicts between economic interests and nature and wildlife conservation.

According to VNA/Tin Tuc Newspaper

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