Green Destination Management
By Pham Ha, Chairman & CEO of LuxGroup
Building green destinations is no longer an option—it is an essential requirement for the sustainable development of Vietnam’s tourism industry in today’s context. It represents a critical shift in both mindset and action, aligning with global trends toward responsible and resilient tourism.
Building a National Brand Through Green Values
Developing green destinations is fully aligned with Vietnam’s broader economic growth strategy and reflects the Government’s directive—particularly as emphasized in Official Telegram No. 34/CD-TTg—on boosting tourism to contribute to double-digit economic growth.
Vietnam possesses invaluable assets for tourism: its rich culture, pristine nature, diverse cuisine, and warm-hearted people. All of these are deeply connected to “green” values and the path toward sustainability. When effectively leveraged through ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) standards, these strengths can give rise to uniquely Vietnamese tourism products, enhancing national brand value and attracting high-end travelers from key markets like Europe and the Americas.
Currently, 80% of Vietnam’s international visitors come from Asia, while only 20% are from European and American markets—segments with higher spending capacity and longer stays. If we can increase this share to 30–40% and raise average revenue per visitor by just 30%, tourism’s contribution to national GDP will significantly improve.
However, high-end travelers are highly sensitive to environmental, social, and cultural factors. For this reason, developing green destinations must be prioritized as a strategic pillar. Some destinations like Hoi An (Quang Nam) and Ninh Binh are already exemplifying green tourism by minimizing plastic waste, reducing carbon emissions, and managing waste and water effectively. These models can and should be scaled to other potential locations, such as Hue—poised to become Vietnam’s heritage green tourism symbol.
Business Commitment to Green Tourism
Over the years, LuxGroup has been a pioneer in delivering sustainable and premium travel experiences tailored to European and American visitors. Our standout offerings include agricultural tours, culinary heritage journeys, and low-carbon experiences.
In particular, LuxGroup has implemented a policy of contributing USD 1.5 per guest to the LuxGroup Foundation, which offsets emissions generated from transportation, dining, and lodging. This fund supports environmental initiatives such as reforestation and the installation of solar-powered lighting systems.
Guests have not only embraced this initiative but often voluntarily contribute additional funds to support local communities, improve quality of life, and co-create happy, sustainable destinations. This clearly illustrates that building green destinations is not a solo effort. It requires collaboration at all levels—from central government and local authorities to businesses, communities, and travelers. Sustainability must be a shared mindset, translated into collective action.
Smart Governance with Digital Tools and Data
Green destination development must also coincide with a shift from quantity to quality in tourism. This transition must be data-driven—relying on digital tools to identify source markets, inform policy decisions, and design tailored, high-quality travel products.
Vietnam currently lacks a coherent destination management model. Over-tourism at peak times and uneven distribution of visitors across routes has led to unsustainable growth and inefficient use of resources. Structural bottlenecks—including inconsistent policy, under-skilled labor, generic tourism products, scattered promotion efforts, and limited digitalization—are hindering Vietnam’s tourism potential.
It is essential to build a comprehensive visitor database—including traveler origin, purpose of visit, spending habits, satisfaction levels, and existing gaps. Only with such data can we devise effective policies and manage destinations in a way that ensures they remain green, clean, beautiful, and sustainable.
Tourism is an interdisciplinary economic driver that creates jobs not only in travel services and accommodations but also in culinary, transportation, wellness, and artisanal sectors. Therefore, green destination management requires inter-sectoral coordination and strong collaboration among government agencies, localities, associations, and communities.
The criteria for “green” must be clearly defined, measurable, and recognized—not only for evaluation but also to foster healthy competition between destinations. Moreover, government policy must support green development, especially in terms of visa facilitation. Recent visa exemptions for visitors from the Czech Republic, Switzerland, and Poland are welcome progress. In the future, Vietnam should consider introducing investment visas, retirement visas, or medical tourism visas for senior travelers who wish to stay longer and spend more on healthcare and high-end services.
