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The Environmentally and Socially Responsible Tourism Capacity Development Programme (EU-ESRT Project) is the largest tourism technical assistance programme in Vietnam funded by the European Union, with the aim of introducing responsible tourism principles into the Vietnamese tourism industry to enhance competitiveness and contribute to the implementation of the Socio-Economic Development Plan.
The conference “Implementing Responsible Tourism for Sustainable Development in Vietnam” was organized by the EU-ESRT Project to report the results after 6 years of the Project's operation and discuss the direction of sustaining the results achieved through the application of the principles of Responsible Tourism.
Speaking at the conference, Mr. Bruno Angelet, Ambassador - Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Vietnam said, “We have supported the Vietnamese tourism industry for 10 consecutive years and hope that the resources invested through the EU-ESRT Project will be the foundation for developing responsible and sustainable tourism in Vietnam”.
Director General of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism Nguyen Van Tuan affirmed, “We are committed to continuing to maintain and effectively exploit the results that the Project has achieved.” The Director General also hopes that the EU will continue to pay attention to supporting Vietnam Tourism, actively contributing to the fight against hunger and poverty in Vietnam’s socio-economic development strategy.
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Conference scene
The EU-ESRT project, with a total value of 12.1 million Euros, has been implemented under the direction of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism since 2011 and will end in November 2016. Key results include the organization of 460 training courses for 13,276 participants, raising awareness of Responsible Tourism for 32,572 high school students, and disseminating technical documents online with 70,410 downloads.
Mr. Vu Quoc Tri, Director of the EU-ESRT Project shared, “When we launched the Responsible Tourism Project funded by the European Union in 2011, this was the first time that responsible tourism principles were introduced to Vietnam Tourism. Therefore, the beneficiaries in the industry did not fully understand the benefits gained from applying this principle. The project spent a lot of time and effort to inform, promote and persuade partners to participate in its programs and activities.”
Highlights of the EU-ESRT Project after 6 years of operation
After 6 years of implementation, the activities of the EU-ESRT Project on responsible tourism practices have begun to have an impact on the awareness of all levels and sectors on the requirements for sustainable development of Vietnam tourism. The project has succeeded in transforming Responsible Tourism from a novel concept into a familiar term, an essential part of many policies, plans and practical activities of Vietnam Tourism. Awareness of responsible tourism development has been widely spread to areas across Vietnam thanks to close coordination with localities, destinations and communities.
According to Mr. Nguyen Xuan Binh - Deputy Director of Da Nang Department of Tourism, "In addition to raising awareness, in the past time, the EU Project has also provided technical support to the three localities of Thua Thien - Hue, Da Nang and Quang Nam on linking tourism products, marketing and destination branding. Specific products such as publications, maps, tourism websites, and the "The Essence of Vietnam" brand identity have helped us a lot in promoting and advertising the typical products of the Central region to key international markets. After the Project ends, the three localities will continue to promote linkages to promote the values and products that the EU-ESRT Project has brought."
The EU-ESRT project will end at the end of 2016, so how to develop sustainable tourism in the coming period? Mr. Truong Nam Thang, an expert of the EU-ESRT project, believes that if each level, each organization, each individual is aware of their responsibilities, commits to being responsible and practices responsibly within their capabilities, then Vietnam Tourism will develop sustainably according to the principles of responsible tourism.
