On the morning of December 27, the Provincial Tourism Association opened a ceremony to launch the Thuy Bieu - A Plastic waste reduction tourist destination.
Installing free water refill points for tourists
According to the representatives of the organizing committee, receiving support from the project “Hue urban reducing plastic waste in Central Vietnam”/WWF-Vietnam and the Provincial Tourism Association, Thuy Bieu has been honored to become a pilot model as the first tourist destination to reduce plastic waste in Hue City.
At present, there are 16 community facilities participating and implementing solutions for plastic reduction, including encouraging tourists to bring personal belongings. For those who don’t have their water bottles, the program will provide them with free bottles and have water refilled for them at experiencing points during the trip. Furthermore, raincoats and umbrellas are also provided on each bicycle, and all items will be taken back at the end of the trip.
For the tour that has cooking class experience, food bags and containers are available for tourists to take them to go shopping without using plastic bags; Plastic bottles are replaced with refillable glass bottles. Disposable items are not automatically provided; they are just supplied only upon tourists’ requests. At the same time, shampoo sachets are also replaced by refillable bottles. There are also 5 free water refill places for tourists at the destinations.
The tourist attractions in Thuy Bieu also strengthen its dustbin system so that tourists can dispose of garbage in the designed areas that are convenient for garbage collection. Systems of boards identifying water filling points and providing information for communication, as well as the boards naming the establishments pioneering in participating in the destinations of plastic waste reduction are also installed. Furthermore, two green houses are also set up at the wharves and along the main traffic axis of Thuy Bieu destination. This allows tourists to properly throw away recyclable waste. The works of communication to promote the model of a destination reducing plastic waste are also actively implemented.
Thuy Bieu village is an ancient village located around 5km away from the Hue City center. The special features of the village lie in its simple and rustic sceneries, preserving many familiar images of traditional Vietnamese villages. Previously, in every tour for sightseeing, experiencing, and staying in Thuy Bieu, water bottles which were provided at each place, and the accommodation amenities were all typically single-use plastic items…
After being informed and educated through various information channels, gaining a clearer awareness of the impact of plastic waste on the environment, on people’s health, on the images of destinations, and the quality of the holidays, local people earning their living from this land have determined to build Thuy Bieu into the first “destination reducing plastic waste” of Hue City, contributing to turning Hue into an urban of plastic reduction in 2024.
By Huu Phuc
