HANOI, Feb 22 (NNN-VNA) – Tourism could cause a three-time spike in plastic waste to 340,000 tonnes by 2030, in Vietnam, local media reported yesterday, citing a report from the country’s Institute for Tourism Development Research.
Before the COVID-19 outbreak, 85 million domestic tourists discarded nearly 61,000 tonnes of plastic waste every year, while 18 million international tourists left on the site 55,200 tonnes, resulting in a total of 116,200 tonnes, the tourism institute said.
“If no action is taken to tackle the problem, the amount of plastic waste caused by tourism activities will triple by 2030,” said Nguyen Anh Tuan, director of the institute. “This will put a huge pressure on the environment.”
Vietnam’s tourism sector is stepping up action, to address plastic pollution with a series of initiatives, aimed at educating businesses, local communities and travellers, said Ha Van Sieu, deputy head of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, at a conference last week.
Some restaurants, hotels and tourist attractions at UNESCO world heritage sites, Trang An Landscape Complex in northern province of Ninh Binh, and Hoi An Ancient Town in central province of Quang Nam, will be asked to adopt pilot measures to reduce the use of plastics.
The government planned to cut down 75 percent of its plastic waste by 2030.
Vietnam saw approximately 3.7 million international visitor arrivals last year, surging 23.3 times from the previous year, but still falling short of its official target of five million.
The country plans to serve over eight million international visitor arrivals this year, according to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism.– NNN-VNA
