Vietnam has warned about an ecological disaster that threatens the country – and the main reason for it has been declared tourists who do too much shit, and every year more and more. It’s about plastic pollution, which tourists leave behind so much that the country can’t cope. As a result, Vietnam plans to launch a special campaign “Reducing plastic waste in tourism”, which was initiated by the Vietnam Tourism Association and the Institute of Strategy, Policy, and Natural Resources.
According to Vietnamese media, the total amount of plastic waste produced by tourists in Vietnam in 2019 was 116,000 tons, with 85 million domestic tourists dumping nearly 61,000 tons of plastic waste, 18 million foreign tourists dumping more than 55,2000 tons . How tourists were counted is not known, most likely the counting was carried out by resorts that are more popular with domestic and foreign tourists. For understanding, it is enough to say that back in 2018, some beaches of Vinpearl Island – a popular beach island “opposite” the well-known tourist resort of Nha Trang – were littered with plastic bags and other garbage due to the peculiarities of the current.
“Without mitigation measures, the amount of plastic waste from tourism will triple in the next 7 years. This is a huge pressure on the environment,” commented Nguyen Tuan, director of the Tourism Development Research Institute. There is a risk that by 2030, if nothing changes, the amount of plastic waste will exceed 340 tons.
“Vietnam’s tourism industry has been booming in recent years, receiving more and more tourists. But it also means that the activities of tourists contribute to the increase of plastic waste,” added Ha Van Siu, Deputy Director General of the National Tourism Administration of Vietnam. That is why it is planned to launch the “Reduction of plastic waste in tourism” program, which is designed to help Vietnam avoid an environmental disaster.
“The program includes: raising awareness at all levels, sectors, enterprises, residents and visitors, as well as promoting information about limiting the use of plastic waste,” the initiators said. According to them, so far Vietnam is facing many difficulties in reducing this burden. First of all, people’s awareness, including tourists, is low, they don’t throw garbage there. Second, the cost of creating plastic substitutes is still high, and many businesses fear that switching to more environmentally friendly methods will raise prices, which will reduce competition. Third, it is difficult to apply environmental criteria in tourism products and services on a large scale.
However, you can start small, – said the general director of Au Lac tourism company, Ms. Hoang Nat Thanh. “If in Vietnam, instead of giving tour guests two bottles of water, they gave only one, and then instructed them how to collect water from free public taps or large water jugs, I think everyone would support the measure – and the extra it would significantly reduce plastic,” she said. However, the initiators of the program also foresee the introduction of “severe sanctions” for polluting the environment.