Seminar on Responsible Tourism in Viet Nam

On Oct, 20th a seminar on "Responsible Tourism and Responsible Tourism Certification in Viet Nam" was held by the Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in Ha Noi.
The event attracted the attendance of delegates from VNAT, WWF, ESRT project, Netherlands Development Organization (SNV), some destinations and travel businesses.
In the opening speech, Deputy Director General of VNAT Nguyen Manh Cuong said Viet Nam tourism has been remarkably developing as one of important economic sectors contributing to social and economic development of the nation in recent years. However, the goal of sustainable tourism development in the stage of 2001-2010 was not fully achieved because of the lack of appropriate care about environmental protection, natural preservation, native culture and public benefit. Therefore, one of the key targets determined in the Draft of "Vietnam Tourism Development Strategy until 2020, and vision for 2030" is the promotion of responsible tourism prioritizing eco-tourism and community tourism, he emphasized.
Remarked as one of tourism sector's initial efforts aiming to develop responsible tourism in Viet Nam, the seminar looked forwards to receiving initiatives from participants as well as supports from international organizations, Cuong hoped.
Participants agreed that responsible tourism is now considered a significant tendency of global tourism development, and is becoming more practical and obvious in the situation that Viet Nam tourism is concentrating in quality and sustainable development. Responsible tourism dedicated to community-based and ecological tourism should be integrated into national tourism development strategy. Special attention should be placed on raising social awareness and enhancing training activities.
At the workshop, the participants suggested Viet Nam should develop a clear, transparent, suitable and responsible tourism certification system to ensure it's success. The certification should be considered as a standard tool to improve the quality of community-based and ecological tourist products.
Deputy Director of Institute for Tourism Development Research Pham Trung Luong said Responsible Tourism Certification will be an important initiative to carry out strategic goal on sustainable development in Viet Nam as well as to contribute to improvement of Viet Nam's tourism competitiveness capacity in the region and the world.