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V
ietnam is an emerging destination. Its tour-
ism is developing fast with many new hotels
and resorts being built in cities, in mountain-
ous areas and along the coastline. Two years
ago, the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism
(VNAT) launched the Green Lotus program to recog-
nise clean and green establishments that are meeting
benchmark standards. The Green Lotus label will al-
low guests to evaluate hotels and resorts around the
country. It also recognises tourism businesses which
are flying the flag for sustainable practices.
Besides the Green Lotus, there are lots of oth-
er environmental awards, such as the Green Hotel
Award of the ASEAN Tourism Forum, the Guide Award
from the Vietnam Economic Times, and the Green
Award of Saigon Times Weekly. All these help to cre-
ate a green tourism sector.
Along with efforts from the local authorities, the En-
vironmentally and Socially Responsible Tourism Capacity
Development Program (ESRT), funded by the European
Union, also works on environmental issues. ESRT often
organises surveys, workshops and training courses in
order to support the local tourism authorities and VNAT
in developing the industry. This is the biggest tourism
technical support program in Vietnam. It aims to make
responsible tourism principles mainstream in Vietnam’s
tourism sector to enhance competitiveness and contrib-
ute to the Socio Economic Development Plan.
“Vietnam’s hotel and tourism sector is rapidly
expanding and the Vietnam Tourism Occupational
Standards (VTOS) Master Trainers will play a critical
role in the provision of skilled professionals for posi-
tions in the tourism industry,” said Chris Benke, a key
international trainer of ESRT. “It is important that the
hotel and restaurant industry partners with the train-
ing centers to ensure that training of all students is
meeting the demanding needs of tourism businesses”.
With its mandate to spread the message of Re-
sponsible Tourism, ESRT strategically supported the
Vietnam International Travel Mart (VITM 2014) in Ha-
noi with the presence of a responsible tourism booth
to disseminate information about responsible tourism
principles and practices. It also helped by presenting
three slots at the VITM 2014 conference on responsi-
ble tourism themed topics.
In addition, the United Nations Industrial Devel-
opment Organisation (UNIDO) joined forces with the
Vietnamese government to establish the Vietnam
Cleaner Production Center, which helps Vietnamese
enterprises install environmental management sys-
tems and follow green procurement practices.
Real action
It seems that the awareness of making tourism