Hue City creates and builds green tourism products and models

Hue City is creating and building "green" tourism products and models, contributing to shaping the trend of Vietnam's tourism in the integration period to be environmentally friendly for sustainable development.

Net Zero - zero net emissions has been and is being strongly committed by Vietnam in particular and the world in general to respond to climate change.

Not outside this trend, the National Tourism Year 2025 hosted by Hue city is creating and building "green" tourism products and models, contributing to shaping the trend of Vietnam's tourism in the integration period to be environmentally friendly for sustainable development.

Impressed with "green" tourism products

Leaving Hue city center, Mr. Pierre Dubois, a French tourist, and his wife took about 20 minutes to reach the Thanh Toan tile-roofed bridge tourist destination in Thanh Thuy ward.

During their journey to explore this place, both were truly impressed by the fresh air and friendly people. Local people bring many experiences to tourists, through instructions on making gifts from local materials, singing Bài Chòi, and introducing products at the Farm Tools Exhibition House.

Impressed by the experience of making bamboo and rattan baskets, Mr. Pierre Dubois shared that the experience made him feel directly connected to traditional Vietnamese culture, not just a tourist. The basket is a unique souvenir, showing the smart way of the people, to preserve the traditional craft, at the same time spreading the message of environmental protection to international friends.

Ribbon-cutting ceremony to launch Thanh Toan Tile-roofed Bridge Plastic Reduction Tourist Destination. (Photo: Mai Trang/VNA)

Thanh Toan tile-roofed bridge community tourism destination will start implementing activities to reduce single-use plastic from March 2025.

By May 2025, with the support of the Project "Hue - Plastic-reducing City in Central Vietnam" (sponsored by the World Wildlife Fund - Norway through WWF - Vietnam) and the companionship of the Hue City Department of Tourism, the model "Thanh Toan tile-roofed bridge community tourism destination reduces plastic waste" was launched, with the goal of reducing at least 50% of single-use plastic products in tourism activities, lost to the environment by 2025 and striving to turn this place into a "green" tourist destination by 2028.

From here, the Net Zero trend gradually permeates the lives of Thanh Thuy residents. Businesses, accommodation establishments, restaurants, homestays, and experience establishments all keep up with the “green” business model, such as limiting plastic waste, utilizing recycled materials, and encouraging the use of renewable energy.

In particular, the models guide tourists to experience environmental responsibility, through making cakes from banana leaves, arranging food on bamboo trays, rowing boats to collect trash on the river, harvesting clean vegetables, and planting rice.

According to Mr. Tran Duy Duc, Vice Chairman of Thanh Thuy Ward People’s Committee, the people are the central subject of community tourism. They directly provide services, preserve culture and inspire tourists about a “green” lifestyle.

The government has issued a plan to develop sustainable tourism, supporting households to build experiential services such as learning to cook, singing Bai Choi, making conical hats, rowing boats, etc. to both improve livelihoods and preserve local cultural values.

For domestic student groups, Thanh Toan tile-roofed bridge tourist destination has educational value on environmental protection and effective improvement of community life and culture.

Not only the Thanh Toan tile-roofed bridge tourist destination, the plastic-reducing community tourism destinations at Ngu My Thanh - Con Toc (Dan Dien commune), Dam Chuon (My Thuong ward)... simultaneously launched in 2025, not only "awakening" the tourism potential of the Tam Giang-Cau Hai lagoon system but also contributing to changing the behavior and awareness of people and tourists about the responsibility of protecting the environment.

Having traveled to many places in Hue to experience “green” tourism, Ms. Le Hai Yen, from Hanoi, recognized that the thinking of tourism development in Hue has changed dramatically, from focusing on simple resource exploitation to the sustainable development direction of doing “green” tourism.

Green tourism products are increasingly diverse, both preserving cultural values ​​and meeting the experiential needs of tourists, especially international visitors.

The National Tourism Year 2025 is a clear demonstration of this effort. In the series of events, the message of reducing plastic and “green” consumption is subtly conveyed through every small detail.

Delegates are served water in glass bottles instead of plastic bottles. Visitors are encouraged to bring their own water bottles when attending shows, or popular gifts are umbrellas, cloth bags, water bottles, etc. Although simple, these details create a ripple effect, contributing to changing the consumption habits of tourists and local people.

Green consciousness - clean action

One of the successes of the Net Zero journey in Hue is the change in awareness and behavior of the government, people and businesses.

As a practice hotel belonging to Hue College of Tourism, Villa Hue Hotel (Thuan Hoa Ward) has early joined the community committed to initiatives to reduce plastic waste in tourism in Hue. From there, the facility connects travel agencies and destinations to implement plastic-reducing culinary tours and environmental education.

Tourists are encouraged to bring cloth bags and personal belongings when traveling or using services in Phu An commune, Phu Vang district, Hue city. (Photo: Mai Trang/VNA)

At the end of the trip, tourists are encouraged to record their experiences and share them on social networks with messages of “reducing plastic waste” and “responsible tourism”.

Principal of Hue College of Tourism Pham Ba Hung said that participating in the plastic reduction commitment helps Villa Hue Hotel reduce about 20-50% of the cost of purchasing disposable plastic items each year, saving resources through reuse and recycling.

Connecting with a network of “green” tourism businesses helps establishments improve their competitiveness and brand value, attracting international visitors interested in responsible tourism.

The hotel is also a “living laboratory” for implementing new initiatives on waste classification, plastic reduction, energy saving, and waste recycling. This is an ideal combination of vocational training and green tourism application, highly appreciated by domestic tourism enterprises and vocational training institutions.

Operating a "green" tourism service model causes many businesses and establishments in Hue to face challenges in the first steps such as high investment costs and requirements for quality human resources.

According to Mr. Pham Ba Hung, Principal of Hue College of Tourism, the unit and Villa Hue Hotel regularly update international standards on "green" hotel management, applying them to training programs as well as actual operations.

There are currently many effective green hotel models in the world such as Six Senses (Thailand, Vietnam) or Parkroyal Collection Pickering (Singapore) which are typical examples for the unit to refer to and apply in eliminating plastic bottles in rooms, combining recycling centers and environmental education as part of practice for students.

Having operated “Van The Garden” (Van The Cooperative, Thanh Thuy Ward), one of the pioneering establishments committed to reducing plastic at the Thanh Toan tile-roofed bridge tourist destination, Mr. Nguyen Mau Hoa, Thanh Thuy Ward, has accumulated a lot of experience in the process of doing tourism associated with the “green” trend.

Currently, Mr. Hoa is running his own business model with “green” community tours, connecting visitors to Thanh Toan covered bridge. The indispensable experiences for visitors on the tours are recycling plastic utensils to grow vegetables and flowers; using banana leaves and fig leaves to package products instead of plastic boxes.

Mr. Hoa shared that employees have changed their behavior to respond to a friendly business environment, limiting the use of disposable plastic products and recycling plastic products. In particular, employees proactively incorporate plastic reduction propaganda into student experience tours, helping to educate the younger generation about a “green” lifestyle.

Director of Hue City Department of Tourism Tran Thi Hoai Tram said the city focuses on protecting the environment through clean and beautiful landscapes and "green" infrastructure; promoting the "responsible tourism" campaign, mobilizing the cooperation of managers, businesses and tourists to build green, clean, civilized tourism, and preserve heritage.

Evidence is ecological, community, and agricultural tours associated with environmentally friendly experiences such as cycling, SUP, exploring mangrove forests, and craft villages.

Hue strengthens regional connectivity, especially the Hue - Da Nang "green" tourism corridor; international cooperation in human resource training and investment promotion in "green" tourism; organizes the "green" tourism Forum Week, international seminars on sustainable tourism development, and enhances the application of digital technology in managing and promoting "green" tourism.

The ancient capital of Hue is taking steady steps on the journey to build a Net Zero destination. In the near future, Hue will not only be a “Festival City” or “Heritage Capital” but also aim to become a leading sustainable destination in the region, where visitors will find a harmonious combination of culture, nature and a “green” lifestyle.

More importantly, the Net Zero journey in Hue is a strong commitment of the Ancient Capital in the integration period: "Developing tourism without sacrificing the environment, towards a green future for the community."

According to Nguyen Thanh Binh, Permanent Vice Chairman of the Hue City People's Committee, the city is committed to a "green", clean, civilized, sustainable tourism environment associated with heritage conservation. The current Hue tourism environment is positively evaluated with many outstanding advantages. That is the rich natural landscape, the harmony between rivers, mountains, lagoon systems, mangrove forests, and beaches that have created an attractive eco-tourism and "green" tourism space for domestic and international tourists./.

(TTXVN/Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/thanh-pho-hue-kien-tao-va-xay-dung-san-pham-mo-hinh-du-lich-xanh-post1059640.vnp