Workshop seeks to promote responsible tourism and wildlife conservation

Tourists visit Vân Long Nature Reserve in the northern province of Ninh Bình. — Photo baoninhbinh.org.vn

HÀ NỘI — Preventing tourists from buying ivory products and endangered wild species is essential, especially in the context of Việt Nam having fully reopened its doors to international tourists, a workshop held in Hà Nội on Wednesday heard.

The event, which was organised by the World Wide Fund for Nature in Việt Nam (WWF-Vietnam) in coordination with Hà Nội’s Department of Tourism and Hanoi Tourism Association, aims to provide knowledge about responsible tourism and wildlife conservation for 150 tour guides and travel operators.

Việt Nam currently has 33 national parks, 57 nature reserves, 13 habitat conservation areas, 53 landscape protection zones and nine biosphere reserves.

Participants were provided with information that was expected to help identify risks related to brokering and trading wildlife products.

Some good models and lessons on responsible tourism associated with nature and wildlife preservation in the world and Việt Nam were also shared at the workshop, helping to change travellers’ behaviour and refrain from buying or selling products from endangered species. They also exchanged views related to this regard.

Nguyễn Đào Ngọc Vân from WWF-Vietnam said tourism development has increased the number of visitors to tourist attractions, which in turn hikes the demand for resources, putting pressure on the environment and ecosystems.

Some tourists tend to prefer buying products derived from wildlife, leading to the loss of natural landscapes and important eco-tourism sites, she said, adding that this is also the resource that the tourism industry is relying on to attract domestic and foreign tourists.

Vân said she hopes that tour guides and travel operators will spread their commitment to protecting elephants and wildlife to visitors, helping them to be aware of the need to preserve these species.

The workshop was of practical significance in the context that the tourism industry is developing toward environmental, economic and social responsibility, said Trịnh Thị Mỹ Nghệ, deputy chairwoman of the Hanoi Tourism Association. — VNS