Before it’s too late

When he was leaving for Canada after his trip to Phu Quoc in 2005, David Hutt, a 45-year-old Australian businessman, was still fresh in his mind with the image of palm trees partly hiding the beach with winding red dirt roads. Hutt made up his mind that one day he would take along his family to that beautiful island to once again immerse himself in the feeling caused by warm white sand and the cool blue water.

Reality paints a different picture, though. Three years later, on his return to Phu Quoc, what Hutt saw was an enormous construction site with immigrant workers working day in day out to build a five-star resort along the beach which once mesmerized him.

“When I first came here, I was blown away by the splendor and wilderness of Phu Quoc’s natural landscape,” said Hutt. “But now, construction machinery is destroying such primitive beauty and turning it into resorts and hotels said to be of international standards.”

Zakaria Osman, an Italian businessman, has been to this island four times. But on each arrival, he witnessed more resorts mushrooming only to hide the magnificent view of the ocean. “The unnatural and artificial sight of cold constructions and high-rises has supplanted the bond between people and nature there,” said Osman, who added that he might have to think hard about taking his family to Vietnam any time soon. “Vietnam’s tourism is seemingly undergoing a cosmetic surgery just to be appealing to consumer tastes and preferences.”

A recent survey by TripAdvisor, a tourism website, showed that two-thirds of foreign tourists have been choosing green tourism. Obviously, this is the trend followed by international visitors who want to connect with nature.

According to the European Chamber of Commerce (EuroCham) in Vietnam, nature and heritage tourism is one of the most profitable segments for the global tourism industry—which includes products such as community-based tourism, certified “green” accommodation facilities, local organic food and restaurants, nature discovery tours and voluntourism. Vietnam has all of the natural characteristics suitable for these market segments, many industry experts have said.

During a recent forum on green tourism, Le Quang Tung, Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, affirmed that all Vietnam’s policies and plans aim to foster tourist development, protect the natural environment, and promote national cultural values.

However, reality is still at odds with what many leaders have foreseen.

It was Vietnam’s natural beauty, heritage and vibrant culture that played an important role in enhancing the dynamism of Vietnam’s tourism in the past few years. However, according to EuroCham’s Tourism and Hospitality Sector Committee, poor management of natural resources and tourist destinations and lack of attractive, sustainable tourism and service products may hinder Vietnam’s competitive advantages and slow down her tourism growth in the upcoming years.

Vietnam ranked 34th out of 136 countries in natural resources related to tourism, according to the report of the 2017 Tourism Competitiveness Index of the World Economic Forum (WEF). However, Vietnam tumbled in the tourism service infrastructure list, ranked 113th, almost at the bottom.

Meanwhile, the natural environment is in crisis and its benefits for economic growth are losing ground. A blizzard of resorts and hotels built along the coastline has turned Vietnam into a cheap destination, thus losing her opportunities to make full use of thriving markets and other advantages.

Take Ha Long Bay as an example. Over the past six or eight years, Ha Long Bay suffering from environmental pollution has raised an alarm among many tourism experts. Once deemed polluted and unsafe, Ha Long Bay is to lose its fascination for foreigners and soon its reputation. Many beaches in Vietnam are also facing the same problem.

Sharing the same concern, Nguyen Anh Tuan, director of the Institute for Tourism Development Research (ITDR) said Vietnam is in a period in which tourism development is experiencing hot growth—at almost 19% annually when it comes to international visitors and 10% when it comes to domestic—during 2014-2018.

“We are facing problems of the environment and waste disposal due to tourism activities, especially at key destinations during peak season,” said Tuan.

Change our mind before it’s too late!

At the forum, Maria Jesus Figa Lopez-Palop, Spain’s ambassador to Vietnam, said Spain was once a “tourist hotspot” thank to her gorgeous Mediterranean Sea, delicious food and reasonable service prices. However, during the time spanning from the 1970s to the 1980s, the Spanish tourism industry suffered from a splitting headache when part of her coastline was destroyed due to crowds of tourists. It was hot growth at a price when sustainability was ignored, said the ambassador.

From the experience of Spain, said Lopez-Palop, no matter how important the number of tourists and economic growth are, if nature isn’t well taken care of, tourism will lose its momentum sooner or later.

Fortunately, added the Spanish ambassador, Spain has conducted an overall campaign on sustainable tourism which eventually brought back her visitors. In 2018, Spain became world’s number-one tourist attraction destination, which welcomed some 80 million tourists, twice as large as her own population. The Spanish tourism industry created some 2.5 million jobs and accounted for 11% of the country’s GDP.

It’s always easier said than done. It’s necessary to develop green tourism but how to materialize it is a different story. According to Nguyen Van Dinh, chairman of the Science and Training Association under the Vietnam Tourism Association, first, awareness and knowledge among State officials at all levels on green tourism must be improved. Next, tourism firms and local communities should be briefed on the significance of and how to set up green tourism.

Furthermore, in the development plan, the tourism industry must define green tourism criteria applicable to hotels, restaurants and tourism products. Regular inspections and supervision should also be conducted.

According to Steven Schipani, Asian Development Bank (ADB) Project Administration Unit head for Vietnam, the State should continue to invest in green infrastructure, and cope with climate change and greenhouse gas emission. It can be either renewable energy or economical clean water supply system. “This is a big step in developing green tourism,” said Schipani.

Last but not least, the State should also formulate policies on attracting big investors who want to invest in green tourism, especially in areas that require careful planning.