Green tourism given an airing

Vietnam tourism experts say preserving the World Heritage Site Hue is a priority as tourism to the historic destination is growing at a rapid pace.

During an international seminar in the central region town of Hue, 14 February, local and international researchers met to discuss ways to save the city from over popularity.

The key words at the conference were sustainable tourism and ways to achieve that status over the next five years against the backdrop of double digit growth rates in tourism.

The Thua Thien-Hue provincial People’s Committee chairman, Nguyen Van Cao, said the province has been making an effort to become a model of Vietnam’s green tourism since the ancient imperial citadel of Hue was recognised by UNESCO as a World Cultural Heritage Site in 1993.

“The province has prioritized investment in biodiversity conservation projects and services to protect the cultural and natural environment.”

However, Mr Cao added: “It is a challenge for Hue to develop tourism in a new way despite its potential.”

Meanwhile, Ho Chi Minh City Teachers College director, Ha Bich Lienm, said the city had to adopt a green focus for both natural and cultural heritage to meet environmental concerns and deliver service quality, two items that are now vital to attract today’s tourists.

The United Nations Environment Programme senior advisor, Lal Kurukulasuriya, added: “The province should invest in developing new green tourism models such as community-based and ecological tourism to reduce energy and water costs and increase the value of biological and ecological diversity.”

Hue is the capital city of Thua Thien-Hue province located in central Vietnam on the banks of Song Huong (Perfume River). It is 700 km south of the country’s capital Hanoi and 110 km north of  Ho Chi Minh City.

Source - ttrweekly