Tourism combined with environmental protection has become a new trend in Vietnamese travel agencies. Currently, the purpose of travelling is to not only relax and explore new destinations, but also to give a helping hand to the community and society to promote their development.

Some tourists collecting rubbish in a tour

Having been well-known for his action of collecting litter along roads leading to Da Nang’s Son Tra Peninsula during his free time over the past 8 years, Mr Dao Dang Cong Trung, the Director of the Danang Ocean Tour-Trung Ha Thanh Trading and Tourist Service Joint Stock Company, have not hesitated to combine trash collection activities with his company’s tours since 2016.

Director Trung said his company is providing tour bookers with garbage bags, gloves and trash pickup tools. Then, tourists only spend between 5 and 10 minutes on collecting garbage at any places they visited before leaving.

“As for sea and islands tours, we say ‘no’ to plastic bags by giving our customers degradable or straw bags”, he added.

He emphasised the majority of rubbish they collected is plastic bottles, empty beer cans, papers and nets, so they often bring collected items to the city’s garbage collection areas.

Although this type of tourism has been quite new, tourists’ awareness about environmental protection has significantly increased.

Mr Can Ngoc Chuc from Ha Noi said he has recently participated in a tour combining diving to explore the coral reefs on the Son Tra Peninsula with collecting rubbish.

He remarked he has never been on such tour. This tour has helped him understand more marine environment and the negative impacts of plastic waste on it. Since then, his awareness about environmental protection has remarkablely enhanced.

After experiencing a tour to the Ma Da Island belonging the Son Tra Peninsula, Ms Doan Nhung, a Da Nang native, noted that she and other tourists were very actively involved in collecting trash during this tour.

She also expressed her active support for combining this meaningful activity with sightseeing and experience activities in the city’s tours.

Mr Trung revealed his company would combine the planting of green trees with sightseeing activities in his company’s tours in the coming time with the intention of raising public awareness about environmental protection.