Tourism facing climate change

Sea level rise has submerged some beaches

Risks in sight

Floods and storms in recent years have destroyed a series of cultural and historical relic sites and tourism resources. Extreme weather phenomena have affected tourist transport. Sea level rise has submerged some beaches while eroding several other marine protected and eco-tourism areas. For example, Quang Nam Province’s Bac Cua Dai coastal erosion began in 2004 and has become more and more serious. All these affect travel companies.

According to Peter Burns, senior expert of the Socially Responsible Tourism Capacity Development Program funded by the European Union (EU-ESRT project), while tourism sector suffered big losses due to climate change, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has failed to conduct effective responding measures. Local climate change research institutions seemed not to recognize climate issues faced by the tourism sector. As a result, many travel companies have struggled to cope with negative effects of climate change.

Solutions in need

At the Vietnam: towards Sustainable Tourism in the Era of Climate Change conference held recently, experts agreed that there should be adaptive measures to reduce climate change impact. All government agencies should be well aware of green tourism strategy while protecting the environment.

Accor hotels representative Anthony Slewka pledged to conduct positive accommodation. Participants in its sustainability experience program won’t let food left over and use food good for health. He also confirmed that all the group’s hotels are working hand-in-hand with the community to ensure the positive results.

President of the France-Vietnam Architecture Institute Bui Kien Quoc presented his pilot project to respond to dike erosion through fencing riversides with bamboos instead of using heavy equipment while developing rural tourism in Dien Phuong Commune’s Triem Tay Village in Quang Nam. The project would help with protecting the villages eroded from 20-40m since 2010, promoting rural tourism, save the state budget and benefit localities.

To assist Vietnam in tourism development, the EU-ESRT project called for domestic and foreign experts in climate change to participate in researches in Vietnam as well as several other typical foreign countries. After having researched three central coastal provinces and three Mekong Delta provinces (Can Tho, An Giang and Kien Giang), they are preparing a document to guide good practice of sustainable tourism development in the context of climate change in Vietnam, which is expected to be completed in August and handed over to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism.

Bao Thoa