Eco-Fantastic Tourism in Vietnam

Vietnam has a rich north-south bio-system to offer to everyone. With its 3,000 km of tropical coastline, exquisite cuisine, and fascinating culture, this beautiful country awaits travelers to explore. Vietnam is home to thousands of floral and faunal species. Therefore, the concept of sustainable development plays a huge part in your eco-friendly vacation in Vietnam. In this article, we will look at sustainable tourism in Vietnam.

About Ecotourism in Vietnam

Tourism in Vietnam is famous for its remarkable history, fantastic landscapes, and excellent gastronomy. The rich diversity of wildlife in Vietnam is impressive. Blessed with more than 310 mammals, 296 reptiles, 162 amphibians, 2,000 marine fish, approximately 889 bird species, and more than 850 land mollusk species. There’s no doubt that Vietnam is teeming with wildlife. Vietnam has 30 national parks spread from the northern regions to the southern tip across the country. Additionally, Vietnam has about 8 UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

In 1997, The Sustainable Tourism Initiatives Project (STP) pioneered initiatives to raise awareness of the adverse effects of tourism that promote the conservation of biodiversity in Vietnam. The STP is developed as an international nongovernmental organization to identify, raise awareness, and contribute to the development of sustainable community-based tourism. This can generate sustainable income for some of the poorest and least-favored countries while at the same time helping to maintain the cultural and biological diversity of Vietnam. The project was entrusted to the World Conservation Union (IUCN) and will only serve as a technical project coordinator. The IUCN role is to establish collaborations for efficient networking and information exchange about Vietnam’s sustainable tourism growth.

Vietnam Ecotour Initiatives

Tourism in Vietnam’s Cat Tien National Park offers tons of ecotourism opportunities. Ta Lai Commune is located in the Cat Tien National Park buffer zone and is home to the S’tieng and Ma indigenous ethnic minority groups in Dong Nai Province. 

The project‘s first phase was working with local communities with a poor grasp of ecotourism, environmental protection, and conservation. The project is in collaboration with WWF, a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving the natural environment for the benefit of humans and wildlife. By conserving and restoring natural ecosystems, stop species extinction, and make practice a more sustainable approach.

This project provided locals with various training courses, including cooking, guiding, tourism hospitality, business management, and English language workshops. To equip them with essential tourism skills and give them the confidence to become more actively involved in tourism in Vietnam.

The Talai longhouse will be operated in close collaboration with the community, and tourism activities in the area will be developed. To offer a firm legal foundation for efficient cooperation. The contract was signed between the two parties with the strong backing and observation of Cat Tien National Park’s management board and local government authorities. As a result of this initiative, the longhouse currently employs 70 locals.

Other homes are active in handicraft, weaving, and related services like cooking, guiding, and traditional dance performance. All of this makes it a fantastic opportunity for locals to get involved in tourism and produce alternative income, both directly and indirectly. As a traveler, feel free to participate in this initiative during your Vietnam trip. About 75,000VND-150,000VND ($4-7 USD) will be donated as profit to the Village Development Fund for every participant of an adult traveler and child. The fund’s goals are to give disadvantaged people services, loans to help them create livelihood activities, and grants for community activities and environmental protection.

Unique Ecotours in Vietnam

During your Vietnam trip, you will notice one of Vietnam’s unique ecotourism principles in preserving cultural integrity. The principle of ‘fostering community participation in ecotourism help generate income and help maintain a cultural identity. A trip to Cao Bang-Bac Kan calestone mountain is valuable, not just for Ba Be Lake. But also for learning about cultivation practices, dietary practices that use endemic plants to produce brocade (Cham weaving), and traditional handmade boats of precious timber collected in the woods.

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