HCM City (VNA) - Many coastal and island localities have developed action plans to raise awareness of environmental protection and promote tourism development in conjunction with solutions to reduce plastic waste.

To sustainably develop economic sectors, including tourism, coastal localities nationwide are focused on preserving the environment and ecosystems, and making efficient use of local resources.

According to the Tourism System Planning for the 2021-2030 period, with a vision to 2045, one of the main products is marine and island tourism. To promote sustainable tourism development, associated with protecting the environment and effectively responding to climate change, by 2030, all coastal tourism sites, accommodation establishments, and coastal tourism service businesses will be required to eliminate the use of single-use plastic products and non-biodegradable plastic bags.

Phu Quoc city in the Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang, a renowned marine and island tourist destination in Vietnam that attracts about 5.5 million visitors annually, faces challenges related to developing green tourism in connection with protecting the environment and reducing plastic waste.

The city set a goal to completely ban the use of single-use plastic products at coastal tourism sites and by night market vendors by 2025. Additionally, 80% of the areas within the Phu Quoc marine protected area will be free of plastic waste.

According to Nguyen Thi My Quynh from the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Vietnam, the organisation has collaborated with relevant authorities to implement a project to reduce plastic waste at tourist destinations in Phu Quoc, towards a plastic waste-free island.

Similarly, Con Dao district in the southern province of Ba Ria–Vung Tau is pursuing the goal of sustainable socio-economic development, aiming to promote green and environmentally friendly tourism, thus turning the locality into a high-quality tourist destination.

The district People's Committee, in collaboration with WWF Vietnam, has distributed hundreds of waste sorting guides, and waterproof and recycled fabric bags to tourism service establishments, to reduce the amount of plastic waste and plastic bags in local tourist sites, and beaches.

Vo Thanh My, Vice Chairman of the Ba Ria-Vung Tau Tourism Association, said that the agency has intensified efforts to promote and encourage the tourism business community in Con Dao to adopt a circular economy model, aiming to minimise the use of single-use plastic products in tourism and service support activities.

ജ Many accommodation and service providers in Con Dao have proactively implemented the classification of waste at source, gradually reducing the use of disposable plastic products to keep them out of the surrounding waters, he said./.