Developing green and sustainable tourism in the homeland
WVR - Nearly 6 million Vietnamese people living abroad are a strong driving force in developing and spreading of the green and sustainable tourism in Vietnam.
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| Overseas Vietnamese visit Hung Kings Temple Relic Ensemble in the Homeland Spring 2023 program. (Photo: An Le) |
Resolution No. 08-NQ/TW of the Politburo on developing tourism to become a key economic sector clearly states the viewpoint of developing sustainable tourism; preserving and promoting the nation's cultural heritage and fine traditional values; protecting the environment and nature.
In recent years, green tourism has attracted more attention, becoming an important development direction for many countries around the world.
“Green tourism and investment” was chosen as the theme of World Tourism Day 2023, emphasizing the need to increase investment in green tourism towards sustainable development.
Vietnam's tourism development strategy to 2020, with a vision to 2030, also provides the direction: "Developing green tourism, linking tourism activities with preserving and promoting natural resource values and protecting environment".
Overseas Vietnamese are highly potential visitors
According to the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese (SCOV), the overseas Vietnamese community always looks towards their homeland, wishes to return to Vietnam to visit relatives, travel, learn about national culture and traditions and be given favorable conditions to contribute to building and protecting the country.
In recent years, Vietnamese expat communities have been an important driving force in contributing to the development of the tourism industry. Since 2009, there have been about 700 thousand to 1 million overseas Vietnamese returning home annually, which are equivalent to the number of Japanese tourists - Vietnam's third largest tourist market.
In addition, the young generation born, raised, and trained in a foreign cultural and educational environment will be the next generation playing a leading role in the economic and social activities of the country; The trend of returning to Vietnam to do business, visit relatives, travel, learn about roots,etc. will increase.
Since 2004, the SCOV has regularly organized Vietnam Summer Camps for overseas Vietnamese youth to visit their homeland, participate in trips across Vietnam to learn about their roots, and visit scenic spots, learn about regional culture and customs.
The Committee also focuses on integrating sightseeing activities with other annual programs such as the Overseas Vietnamese Group attending the Hung Kings Commemoration Anniversary, Vietnamese language teaching training class, and Homeland Spring program. In addition, the Committee also proposed the idea of organizing the Overseas Vietnamese Tourism Year. If the program is effective, it will be held on a national scale.
Sharing about the needs of overseas Vietnamese, especially young Vietnamese people in the US, Ms. Erin Phuong, President of Vietnam Society, said that origin tourism will be the answer to many young people's concerns about identity as Vietnamese Americans frequently ask: "Am I Vietnamese or American?".
She said: “A person's attachment to a place, a geographical location, a sense of nostalgia or an emotional connection to a school has many meanings to them. Eating a bowl of pho in Vietnam simply evokes different emotions than eating a bowl of pho in Washington D.C."
To develop the “origin tourism”, Ms. Phuong suggested a number of solutions such as developing a team of volunteers, supporting English translation... In addition, choosing an appropriate tourist destination is necessary for the young generation of Vietnamese people in America to understand their origins, the place of their birth as well as stimulate their discovery of cultural heritage from cuisine, literature, music to festivals, art, architecture...
To further attract overseas Vietnamese in the Czech Republic to travel to Vietnam, the Vietnamese Embassy in the Czech Republic has proposed a number of solutions such as promoting direct flights between Vietnam and Czech Republic soon; creating favorable conditions and shortening the approval time in granting visa exemption to foreigners of Vietnamese origin; developing more tourism programs combined with exploration of Vietnamese culture, traditions and people.
The demand of expatriates in the Czech Republic to participate in programs is quite high because this is an opportunity for them to learn about their culture, origin, homeland, islands, etc. Being organized carefully by reputable and experienced in-bound agencies and organizations, the programs all receive good feedback from participants thus, overseas Vietnamese are willing to afford these experiences.
Businesswoman Phung Kim Vy in Canada is also one of the overseas Vietnamese who has invested back in Vietnam since the early time as well as developed the leisure tourism in Mui Ne and Binh Thuan.
Since 1986, Ms. Vy has opened a travel company in Canada to bring overseas Vietnamese tourists to Vietnam. From these networking trips, she received support from the Vietnamese community in Canada - which created a momentum for her to return home to invest in tourism, as well as to believe in the high potential of Vietnam's coastal areas for tourism.
In addition, a number of businesses such as Vietnam Tourism and Transportation Marketing Joint Stock Company - Vietravel, are also interested in building and organizing return travel programs to attract overseas Vietnamese to return home, visit relatives, travel and invest.
This not only aims to promote and attract overseas tourists to return to visit their roots, but also enhance understanding of nature, culture, and Vietnamese national identity for generations of overseas Vietnamese.
Currently, some localities such as Phu Tho, known for the strength of the Hung Temple historical site and the worship of Hung Vuong – a spiritual symbol of Vietnamese national solidarity, or Dien Bien Province – a region with beautiful natural landscapes in the northern mountainous area, are implementing preferential policies and support to attract tourists, including overseas Vietnamese.
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| Overseas young Vietnamese experience boating at the scenic Trang An, Ninh Binh. (Photo: Ha Anh) |
Promote the bridging role
Positive effects can be observed from programs such as Homeland Spring or Vietnam Summer Camp when compatriots and the younger generation of overseas Vietnamese, upon returning to their home country, voluntarily become ambassadors and bridges to promote the homeland.
According to Luu Nguyen Anh – a young member of the delegation participating in Vietnam Summer Camp 2023, practical activities in Ninh Binh province not only helped him learn about Vietnamese history, but also felt very proud of what the generations of ancestors have preserved for future generations. This man shared: "Back in the US, when I have a chance, I really want to invite my friends in the US to visit Trang An because the mountains and rivers here are so wonderful."
Experiencing the Vietnam Summer Camp journey, two girls, Tran Nhat Tuong Vy in Slovakia and Tran Ha My in Germany, also said that when they return to their country, they want to introduce and promote more about their homeland to their friends.
Last October, three central provinces including Quang Nam, Thua Thien Hue and Da Nang city coordinated with the Malaysia-Vietnam Friendship Association (MVFA) to organize a tourism promotion and stimulus program at the World Trade Center (WTC) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The activity was implemented to develop and expand the potential international tourist market after being affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, while at the same time enhancing communication and promoting the brand of Amazing Central Vietnam Heritage.
Especially, the Tourism Promotion Center of the three provinces and cities of Quang Nam, Da Nang, Thua Thien Hue and the Malaysia-Vietnam Friendship Association (MVFA) have signed a memorandum of understanding on communication cooperation and tourism promotion.
As an active overseas Vietnamese with activities towards her homeland, Ms. Tran Thi Chang, President of MVFA, shared: "Communicating and promoting tourism is one of MVFA's missions. Hopefully, through the Association, with all Vietnamese compatriots in Malaysia, we can join hands. Each person is a tourism ambassador to promote the beauty of culture, cuisine, and people, contributing to promoting Vietnam's tourism."
To further promote resources from overseas Vietnamese for national development, including the tourism sector, the SCOV (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) and Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism), also have signed the Coordination Regulations to demonstrate the close and responsible cooperation between the two agencies in the last August.
Accordingly, both sides share the same desire to work with travel and tourism companies to research and build tourism models that focus on serving the needs of overseas Vietnamese, such as the Vietnam Summer Camp program for overseas students as well as the Overseas Vietnamese Tourism Year program on a provincial and national scale with a broader audience of participants and more diverse goals.
Vietnamese tourism is taking steps to recover and develop strongly after the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, the image of Vietnam's green tourism is increasingly spread widely, receiving the love of friends and international tourists, as well as demonstrating the great potential of the overseas Vietnamese community in contributing to the development of the domestic tourism industry.
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