NEWSLETTER NO. 6 - FEBRUARY 2014 · 2014-04-20 · newsletter no. 6 - february 2014 environmentally...

NEWSLETTER NO. 6 - FEBRUARY 2014

ENVIRONMENTALLY AND SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE TOURISMCAPACITY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME

MINISTRY OF CULTURE, SPORTS AND TOURISMVIETNAM NATIONAL ADMINISTRATION OF TOURISM

Responsible Tourism Policy Conference 2013

EU-MCST Signing Ceremonyon Sustainable Tourism

This publication has been produced with the assistance of the European Union. The content of this publication is the sole responsibility of the Environmentally and Socially Responsible Tourism Capacity Development Programme and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union.

Programme Implementation UnitAddress: Room 402, 4th Floor, Vinaplast – Tai Tam Building39A Ngo Quyen Street, Hanoi, VietnamTel: (84 4) 3734 9357Fax: (84 4) 3734 9359E-mail: [email protected]: www.esrt.vn

CONTENTS

Publication Authorisation Number: 222-2013/CXB/155-05/GTVT issued on 06/08/2013Design by Heart&Mind

3 EU-MCST Signing Ceremony on Sustainable Tourism

4 Responsible Tourism Policy Conference 2013

5 Speakers Corner

7 Tourism Business Forum 2013 in Hanoi

11-12 Responsible Tourism Training Programme in Malaysia

12 UNWTO Ninh Binh Declaration on Spiritual Tourism

6 Vietnam’s Tourism Advisory Board urges deepening

of partnerships in tourism marketing

10-11 Tourism and Climate Change in Vietnam

9 Environmental-friendly Labelling: Green Lotus for Accommodation

8 Familiarization Trip to Northwestern Provinces

Page 8

Page 10


2

Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST)

Hoang Tuan Anh and Vice President of the

European Commission (EU), Commissioner

for Industry and Entrepreneurship, Antonio Tajani inked

a Letter of Intent on cooperation for strengthening

relations and cooperation in the field of sustainable

tourism.

Both sides agreed to work jointly towards the

establishment of a periodic dialogue and exchange

of information between their respective initiatives in

the field of tourism, to ensure the development of

sustainability and competitiveness in tourism in the

European Union and in Vietnam.

The Letter of Intent also said Vietnam and EU would

promote the exchange of good practices in the

development of sustainable tourism among European

and Vietnamese tourism authorities and main

stakeholders, including the academic world, notably in

the fields of natural and cultural heritage preservation

and promotion, small and medium- size enterprises,

training and skills development and the improvement of

tourism services quality.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Minister Hoang Tuan

Anh praised the support and cooperation of the EU with

Vietnam, particularly in the field of tourism. Vietnam

tourism set the targets to receive 8 million foreign and

over 37.5 million domestic arrivals, contributing over 10

billion USD to the state budget in 2013. The development

cooperation and support of the EU has been helping

Vietnam fulfil the set targets, he added.

Vice President Antonio Tajani affirmed that EU would

like to continue and develop bilateral ties with Vietnam

including the sustainable tourism development and

other fields of culture, sports and family. He said, EU is

willing to share its experience with Vietnam in building

development models of sustainable and responsible

tourism, pledging the Union’s participation in bilateral

tourism activities and cultural exchanges in the months

to come.

EU has been assisting Vietnam in realising the ESRT

Programme between 2011 and 2015, which is funded

with 11 million EUR by EU and 1.1 million EUR by

the Vietnamese Government to build capacities and

strengthen the foundation of the Vietnamese Tourism

Sector for socially and environmentally responsible and

inclusive growth with already over 7.000 participants

attending workshops and conferences organised by ESRT

or with its involvement and more than 1.000 trained

participants from administrations, businesses and

communities.

Given the long-standing successful development

cooperation and support of the European Union in

Tourism Human Resource Development and promotion

of Responsible Tourism in Vietnam, Minister Hoang Tuan

Anh also presented its recognition and appreciation

to EU support by awarded the Medal "for the cause of

culture, sports and tourism" to the Ambassador, EU Head

of Delegation to Vietnam, Mr. Franz Jessen.

EU-MCSTSigning Ceremonyon Sustainable Tourism


3

FEBRUARY 2014NO. 6

In the Conference on Responsible Tourism Policy

held in Da Nang in November 2013 with nearly 200

delegates from across Vietnam’s tourism industry,

private and public sectors a series of policy statements

for the business sector, at destination level, on awareness

raising and common policy issues were articulated to

complement the Responsible Tourism Policy Framework

which guides the sustainable development of tourism in

Vietnam.

Questions which have been addressed during the

conference such as ‘how to incorporate sustainability into

tourism policies and plans?’, ‘which policy areas create

an enabling environment for businesses and the tourism

industry as a whole?’ or ‘what are key instruments and

actions resulting from a Responsible Tourism policy?’

were aimed to receiving contributions for the policy

development and to encourage Government of Vietnam

and tourism stakeholder to adopt the concept of a

Responsible Tourism Policy, which will help create a

competitive advantage necessary for Vietnam’s tourism

sector to mature and flourish and continue to contribute

to broad-based socio-economic development well into

the future.

The intense debate in the working groups on several

“hot topics” proved that the collaborative approach

undertaken, policy development in conjunction with the

tourism industry, as well as an emphasis on regional or

local level decision-making was necessary to build the

policy development process on a solid foundation. This

should now result in stronger public-private partnerships

and greater horizontal and vertical co-ordination of

relevant government authorities as well as mechanisms

which need to be established to guarantee a continuing

dialogue on co-operation and policy debate, while

building on a well-coordinated industry representation.

Responsible Tourism in Vietnam is already receiving high-

level attention and commitment in important areas, as is

evident through e.g. Visitor Support Center, promoting

the role and responsibilities of associations, improving

the service quality, hygiene, safety and security, Green

Lotus Programme, Vietnam Tourism Marketing Strategy,

and the development of Responsible Tourism Standards

within the Vietnam Tourism Occupational Standards -

VTOS.

While recognizing the current activities and achievements

it is also important to note that more still needs to be

done. Awareness, understanding, commitment, sharing

responsibilities and taking action still require on-going

support. It is important to continue with this process in a

strategic manner, and at all levels.

With the support of ESRT, the Responsible Tourism Policy

development process can be further escorted through

both institutional and human capacity building.

ResponsibleTourism Policy Conference 2013


4

Vu The Binh reviewed some

necessary policy issues to be

implemented, including tourism

planning and promotion, investment for tourism

facilities, security and safety, sectorial inspection, human

resources, responsible tourism development, promotion

of a tourism stimulus programme, and the revision of the

tourism legislation.

Ken Atkinson discussed the impacts

of unsustainable tourism policies

and plans, including key challenges

to sustainable tourism, Vietnam tourism sector

policies issues, impacts of unsustainable tourism and

requirements for a more sustainable tourism policy.

In his presentation Ha Thanh Hai

explored some areas where Public-

Private Dialogue could focus on and

shared some practical experiences of successful Public

Private dialogue and collaboration.

Kai Partale presented the 6 pillars of the Responsible

Tourism Policy Framework for Vietnam: 1. Creating a

dynamic and efficient tourism sector, 2. Supporting

competitiveness with sustainability, 3. Creating broad-

based socio-economic development, 4. Expanding

knowledge and understanding, 5. Investing in

human capital / resources, and 6. Conservation and

enhancement of natural and cultural resources.

Bryan Fornari identified the challenge of a responsible

tourism policy development process to ensure

coordination between Ministries, Agencies, People

Committees and the business sector. A Responsible

Tourism Policy cannot just be a supply driven policy, it

has to come from the industry and be a demand driven

process. Success will be measured bythe capacity of

the business sector to buy into a Responsible Tourism

Policy as a way to ensure higher quality, more value-

added and tourism sustainability.

Bryan Fornari, Deputy Head of International Cooperation, European Union Deletion to Vietnam

Kai Partale, Tourism Sector Specialist, ESRT

Vu The Binh,Vice-Chairman, Vietnam

Tourism Association

Ken Atkinson, Vice-Chairman, Tourism

Advisory Board

Ha Thanh Hai, Tourism Expert, ESRT

In his presentation Chairman Nguyen Van Tuan from

VNAT explored some of the most challenges facing

responsible tourism development in Vietnam and the

directions for a Responsible Tourism Policy.

Nguyen Van Tuan, Chairman, Vietnam National Administration of Tourism

Speakers CornerENVIRONMENTALLY AND SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE TOURISM

CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME5

FEBRUARY 2014NO. 6

The third meeting of the Tourism Advisory Board

(TAB) took place in Ho Chi Minh City in December

2013 to deliberate on strategies to deepen mutual

marketing initiatives between the country’s tourism

sector and the government.

Welcoming the participants, Nguyen Van Tuan, Chairman

of Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT),

stressed “the Vietnam Tourism Industry needs to

strengthen its public and private cooperation in

marketing activities to better cope with fierce competition

from other countries”.

After a short review of TAB activities from the last meeting

in May 2013, the committee members were presented

with a summary of VNAT marketing initiatives in 2013

and the plan for 2014. ESRT’s Tourism Sector Specialist,

Kai Partale briefed the participants of ESRT’s support to

strengthen VNAT’s tourism marketing and indicated that

Vietnam Tourism Marketing is seeking stronger business

sector alliances, instead of acting alone. He stressed the

critical need to connect tourism promotion programmes

of tourism businesses with the marketing programmes at

the national level in order to realise synergies and exploit

the full potential of Vietnam’s tourism marketing efforts.

With tourism marketing being a high priority for TAB

members, they discussed the government’s present plans

and gave recommendations on a partnership framework

that would work best for undertaking joint marketing

initiatives and how it could be delivered successfully.

Two of the key recommendations of the TAB were to:

• Raise a tourism marketing fund that is supported by large enterprises. The funds can then be carefully allocated to promotional activities in targeted markets based upon a thorough analysis. If the programme is clearly outlined with explicit benefits for related parties, greater participation and success can be hoped for.

• Build more effective partnerships through better planning and management and cross-sector collaboration. The early and broad communication of VNAT marketing programmes to business community will result in greater contribution and collaboration. Other tourism related sectors should also be seen as viable partners in relevant promotional campaigns – for example, foreign affairs and trade and investment.

The TAB Chairman Mr Mr. Trần Hùng Việt concluded the

meeting stating that “the discussions were very positive

and many good ideas have been set forth. The TAB

Marketing Working Group is now requested to continue

to work with VNAT to complete the ideas”.

Established in 2012 and supported by the ESRT

Programme, the TAB aims to advise VNAT to increase

Vietnam’s competitive advantage as a sustainable tourism

and travel destination.

Vietnam’s Tourism Advisory Board urges deepening of partnerships in tourism marketing


6

There is growing recognition

of the need for collaboration

between public sector,

businesses and other stakeholders

within the sector, covering the

economic, social and environmental

aspects of tourism. Increasingly,

public-private collaboration or more

formal partnerships are found in

tourism governance structures (e.g.

Tourism Advisory Board) and also

in the delivery of various tourism

functions and services.

In December 2013, ESRT supported

the fourth Tourism Business Forum

between the Ministry of Culture,

Sports and Tourism (MCST),

Vietnam National Administration of

Tourism (VNAT), Vietnam Tourism

Association (VITA) and the business

sector in Hanoi to discuss a range

of issues such as: establishing and

delivering marketing campaigns,

funding mechanisms for tourism,

visa regulations, classification of

accommodations, coordination

with other ministries, providing

information services, developing

tourism infrastructure, regulations

for tourism enterprises, tourism

and climate change, investing in

education and training as well as

awareness raising for tourism. In

2012, earlier Tourism Business

forums also supported by ESRT took

place in Hanoi, HCMC and Hoi An.

Partnership

structures can

be valuable

in bringing

together

government

and businesses

on an informal

basis to show

that the

concerns of

the businesses

are taken seriously. However, the

question still remains as to how this

public-private dialogue on tourism

governance at a macro and micro

level can become fully effective in

the future. One way could be signing

a Memorandum of Understanding

between the parties to officially

establish this Public-Private Dialogue

Forum. It would be composed of

senior people who are able to take

decisions, and include the MCST,

VNAT, business sector associations

as well as business owners; other

ministries and authorities could be

called on as appropriate.

The Tourism Business Forum would

then consider policies (e.g. Vietnam

Responsible Tourism Policy) and

their implementation, and ensure

that actions agreed are followed

through and comments received

would be passed on to the others

boards / committees, e.g. Tourism

Advisory Board or National Steering

Committee on Tourism.

Tourism Business Forum 2013 in Hanoi


7

FEBRUARY 2014NO. 6

Familiarization Tripto Northwestern Provinces

With their key importance to the domestic

and international travel market in Vietnam,

tour operators wield significant power and

influence in the shaping of tourism in the country. This

can however, be both an opportunity and a challenge for

the sustainable development of tourism in Vietnam.

In order to aim for a Responsible Tourism Product

Development a familiarisation trip for 75 Tour Operators

and Media Representatives to 8 Northwest Provinces

organized by Vietnam Tourism Association and

supported by ESRT took place from 27 Oct – 03 Nov

2013.

During the familiarization trip two workshops have been

conducted in Phu Tho and Ha Giang organised by the

Phu Tho Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism

and Ha Giang People Committee in collaboration with

Vietnam Tourism Association and supported by the ESRT

Programme.

The workshop in Phu Tho concentrated on assessing

the feasibility and potentials of the tourist route

"Exploring cultural heritage land of Hung King" with 20

additional representatives from Phu Tho Province, while

the workshop in Ha Giang focussed on “Responsible

Tourism Development in Dong Van Geopark - turning

into a National Tourism Destination” and more than 40

provincial representatives joined that meeting.

The familiarization trip and its technical meetings were

also a great opportunity for public sector representatives

and the business community to meet and discuss jointly

for the sustainable tourism development in 8 Northwest

Provinces.


8


9

FEBRUARY 2014NO. 6

A recent Vietnam hotel survey revealed signs of

progress within 3-5 star hotels in awareness

of sustainability issues and interest in the

implementation of the Green Lotus. However, many hotels

have not yet taken the opportunity of Green Lotus labelling

and are therefore losing the benefits of marketing and

distribution and are not meeting the requirement of many

international operators.

With the Green Lotus programme, Vietnam’s local hotel

sector has a set of officially recognised standards in

sustainability that provide a clear “definition” of what

“green” means and practical steps that operators

should implement in order to meet varying levels of

sustainability.

The application of the Green Lotus Label represents

the first step to contribute to the standardisation of

management and environmental protection for the

accommodation sector and for tourism in general.

The Green Lotus programme raises awareness and

demonstrates how tourist accommodation can establish

systems on natural resources, energy, reduce waste,

management environmental protection, purchasing

and use of equipment and products and how goods are

evaluated and certified as environmentally friendly. The

programme also provides the opportunity for Vietnam’s

hotel sector to work towards international integration

and brand reputation in the supply system certification for

environmental protection. This helps raise the international

reputation and provides an incentive for companies to

invest and maximise resource-saving measures and/or

technologies.

Further implementation and expansion of the Green Lotus

programme will be fostered by ESRT with VNAT through

three key phases:

• Phase one shall see ESRT undertake a sector situation

analysis in order to clearly understand current

strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to the

implementation of the Green Lotus programme. The

analysis will include a business sector assessment, an

analysis of future funding sources and mechanisms, a

SWOT analysis and an analysis of certification, inspection

and capacity development needs.

• The second phase will see the development of a detailed

strategy “road map” for the effective implementation and

expansion of the Green Lotus programme. Business

benefits for “going green” will be highlighted, stakeholder

sessions will be held on good practice, a marketing plan

for the Green Lotus programme will be developed, and

support will be provided in the preparation of market-

oriented promotional activities.

• The third and final phase will focus on reviewing

implementation status and strengthening capacity.

Support will be provided to marketing activities, training

and coaching measures will be defined and implemented

to increase the capacity of auditors and inspectors, and

further solutions to enhance industry understanding of

Green Lotus will be identified.

The ESRT support to the Green Lotus programme activities

started in January 2014.

Potential negative environmental impacts of the hotel sector from unsustainable practices

• Contribution to air pollution and global warming through high energy use sourced from fossil fuels.

• Contribution to water shortages due to excessive water use in destinations with limited water resources

• Pollution or contamination of ground and surface water, degradation of coral reefs and potential threats to human health from untreated wastewater, poor solid waste management practices, and improper use, storage or disposal of hazardous chemicals such as pesticides and cleaning liquids.

Environmental-friendly Labelling: Green Lotus for Accommodation

Vietnam’s tourism (and

economic development)

faces severe threats

from climate change over the

next thirty years according to

recent analysis of climate change

impacts (Maplecroft Climate

Change Vulnerability Index, 2013).

Climate change is a reality, as

temperatures are increasing, sea

levels rising, and rainfall becoming

more variable. As a result, Vietnam

will continue to suffer from floods,

droughts, high temperatures and the

impact of salinity.

Vietnam is urgently seeking ways of

sustaining its marine economy as

climate change warms and raises sea

levels – and, together with massive

pollution, continues to destroy

the nation's 110,000 hectares of

coral reefs. Of the 110,000 coral

reefs, only 14.5 percent are now in

good condition (Vietnam Institute

of Meteorology, Hydrology and

Environment, 2013).

Rising sea levels could leave almost

30 percent of Hoi

An town submerged

by floods by 2020,

the Quang Nam

Province People’s

Committee has

warned. Da Nang is

also facing impacts

of climate change including flooding

and salination. A local government

initiative to use the Geographic

Information System (GIS) to evaluate

the impact of climate change on local

tourism activities is being developed

along with an action plan is to

enhance climate change mitigation

by 2020 (Da Nang Steering

Committee for the Response to

Climate Change and Sea Level Rises

/ Da Nang Department of Culture,

Sport and Tourism, 2013).

What can the tourism sector do

to help mitigate the impacts of

climate change? ESRT recommends

a number of strategies – at

government, corporate, individual

and customer levels to tackle the

climate change problem.

At government level, Vietnam’s

response to climate change should

focus on tourism adaptation

strategies for responsible tourism

products and destination offerings,

which consider the potential

threat to tourism. Climate change

mitigation will involve technology

changes, and low-carbon energy

technologies, in particular. Prime

Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has

approved 61 climate change projects

that aim to deal with urgent matters.

As many as 15 projects have

received funding from the State to

start their working plans.

While most threats from climate

change are beyond the control of

the tourism sector, they often impact

negatively on tourist arrivals. But

good preparation and an efficient

response can minimize the effect on

the industry, encouraging a return

to normalcy as quickly as possible.

This means smaller declines in

visitor arrivals and revenues, fewer

Tourism and Climate Change in Vietnam

Photo: Reuters

The Vietnam Institute for Tourism Development Research stated that extreme weather phenomena brought by climate change might significantly lessen revenue from coastal tourism which accounts for 70 percent of the total revenue of the marine economy.

Dr. Ha Van Sieu,Director Institute for Tourism

Development and Research


10

Kai Partale,Tourism Sector Specialist, ESRT

A twenty-day Responsible Tourism Training

Programme was held at Taylor’s University in

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in November 2013 for

a group of twenty Vietnamese tourism administrators,

with the official opening by the Deputy Minister of Higher

Education of Malaysia and representatives from the

Vietnamese embassy in Malaysia.

The training covered responsible and sustainable

tourism development, product development and event

management in tourism, tourism service and quality

management and sustainable regional/spatial planning

in tourism.

The training programme was conducted by Taylor’s

University lecturers from the School of Hospitality,

Tourism and Culinary Arts and other experts from the

tourism public and private sectors.

In order to enhance the participants’ learning experience,

various field trips were organized to key tourist

attractions in Malaysia, such as Malacca, Putrajaya, Kuala

Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC), Banghuris Home

jobs lost, and less time and money needed for recovery

marketing campaigns. Therefore, it helps to be as

prepared as possible with a Tourism Crisis Management

Plan for Vietnam National Administration of Tourism and

partners and to communicate consistent, reassuring

messages to all stakeholders – travel trade partners,

national and international media and potential visitors

alike.

At provincial and district level: Raising awareness

of climate change issues with private businesses, the

general public, schools and at meetings are one way in

which local government can contribute. Local tourism

businesses can review and identify ways in which

‘responsible tourism and climate change’ principles

can be applied. Are there corporate climate change/

environmental sustainability policies in place and a staff

member who is responsible for implementation? Are

customers and suppliers made aware of the corporate

climate change/sustainability goals and actions? Are

local contractors and local goods used where possible?

Are customers and staff encouraged to save energy

and water and to reduce pollution and waste? In

addition, tour and travel companies and hotels could

develop a Business Continuation Plan to ensure they

are prepared for any natural disasters or emergencies

due to climate change or other factors. Vietnam Tourism

Occupational Standards (VTOS) have some units on

managing incidents and emergencies and implementing

responsible tourism practices to support tourism

businesses in times of crises.

At an individual level, are there ways in which tourists

can reduce their carbon footprint by planning travel

carefully to reduce the amount of carbon generated

through air and land travel? How do individuals become

responsible tourists, and contribute to the future

sustainability of the wonderful tourism natural resources

of Vietnam?

These important questions for local government, tourism

companies, tourism employees and tourists need to be

answered and action taken if Vietnam is to continue to

develop as a natural tourism destination.

Responsible Tourism Training Programme in Malaysia


11

NO. 6

Kai Partale,Tourism Sector Specialist, ESRT

FEBRUARY 2014

UNWTO Ninh Binh Declaration on Spiritual Tourism

Stay and other attractions in Kuala

Lumpur.

The participants gained new

knowledge and skills through the

training programme, which will

impact on the development of

sustainable tourism practices in

Vietnam.

One of the key measurable

outcomes of the training was to

strategically recommend one

important task (Vision 20) that each

participant will implement after the

training in their respective areas of

responsibility.

As over sixty people will take part

in this training programme by

2015, the programme expects sixty

measurable sustainable tourism

impacts in Vietnam.

The next training programmes will

take place in August/September

2014 and June 2015.

The Government of the Socialist Republic of

Vietnam, namely Ministry of Culture, Sports and

Tourism, Vietnam National Administration of

Tourism and the Province of Ninh Binh hosted the first

UNWTO International Conference on Spiritual Tourism

for Sustainable Development with over 350 international

participants to explore ways in which living culture,

traditions and beliefs can be integrated into tourism in

Ninh Binh, Vietnam, on 21-22 November 2013.

Spiritual tourism is a growing sector of the tourism

market in Vietnam. Closely linked to religious and cultural

tourism and with an emphasis on self-awareness,

wellness and renewal, it has become a means to

harmonize body, mind and heart and can be experienced

in many places in Vietnam. Spiritual tourism paves the

way for responsible tourism by raising awareness of

environmental, socio-cultural and economic issues

resulting from spiritual tourism. It respects social and

cultural values and traditions while enabling local

communities to benefit from tourism and contributing to

poverty reduction. Spiritual tourism in Vietnam serves the

key domestic and Asian markets and includes spiritual

festivals, events and visits to sacred shrines.

At the conference, the ESRT presentation “Enhancing the

Positive Effects of Spiritual Tourism through Responsible

Tourism”highlighted how responsible development of

the sector from policy and planning, human resources

and marketing is linked to Spiritual Tourism. It was

demonstrated in a case how responsible tourism is being

applied to enhance the spiritual tourism product such

as the branding for Vietnam “Timeless Charm” leading to

positioning of the cultural product-line / experience zone

and development of key products for targeted source

markets.

The conference concluded with the endorsement of the

Ninh Binh Declaration on Spiritual Tourism.


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NEWSLETTER NO. 6 - FEBRUARY 2014 · 2014-04-20 · newsletter no. 6 - february 2014 environmentally...

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