HCMC – To make HCMC a responsible tourist destination, the city will have to turn itself into a better place for people to live and then a better place for people to visit, heard a conference on responsible tourism.
The conference held on January 19 by the HCMC government attracted some 300 State officials, business leaders, and local and international experts.
Peter Semone, CEO of Destination Human Capital, told the conference that the root of responsible tourism is environmental protection. The city should draw on experience from Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark. Copenhagen made achievements in controlling gas emissions and developing environmentally friendly means of transport, hotels and tourism services.
Copenhagen looks to become the first city in the world that neutralizes 100% of carbon emissions by 2025. Up to 75% of hotels and 100% of meeting rooms there have obtained sustainable development certification.
“If you want (the city) to become a responsible tourist destination, things like that and environmental protection will send the best message to the outside world,” he said.
Semone added foreign visitors usually complain about traffic chaos, rampant encroachment on sidewalks and dishonest taxi drivers among other problems in Vietnam. The tourism sector should do away with such bad things, and focus on improving service quality, attracting the public to join in tourism development and developing in a smart transport system and pedestrian streets.
He said to become a responsible tourist venue, the city must improve the living standards of local residents.
“Cities with high living standards will offer travelers with a good experience. Do not focus too much on tourists but on local residents, learn things that create high living standards and apply them,” he said.
Many experts shared different experiences on responsible tourism at the conference. They said responsible tourism is the best way to become a destination for global travelers. Responsible tourists use public transit, stay at small lodging facilities run by locals, buy food, drinks and souvenirs made by locals, and minimize plastic waste, among others.
Experts said besides raising people’s living standards, authorities and travel firms must train locals to create unique tourism products and services for visitors.
Speaking at the conference, Barkathunnisha, CEO of Elevated, said responsible tourism has become a global trend. Relevant agencies should create high-quality experiences for tourists.
In Singapore, travel businesses have sent tourists to farms to meet local residents. International tourists want to communicate and experience the lives of locals rather than merely staying in a city. Travel firms apply advanced technology to bring tourists to such places.
She said tourism products associated with experiences cost higher than normal products and that ASEAN is a potential market for Vietnam’s tourism sector.
HCMC keen on responsible tourism development
