Hue Faces Green Challenge

Rapid growth at the Hue UNESCO World Heritage site has prompted Vietnam tourism experts to prioritize its preservation.

During an international seminar in Vietnam’s central region town of Hue on 14 February, local and international researchers met to discuss ways to save the city from over-tourism.

Talking points at the conference focused on sustainable tourism and ways to achieve that over the next five years against a backdrop of double-digit visitor growth rates.

Thua Thien-Hue Province People’s Committee Chairman Nguyen Van Cao said the province has been making an effort to become a model for Vietnam’s green tourism since the ancient imperial citadel of Hue was recognized 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,” he said. “(However) 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 Hue 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.

United Nations Environment Program 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.”

Source: TTR Weekly (By Wanwisa Ngamsangchaikit)

For more information:

Visit: www.vietnamtourism.gov.vn