Plastic Smart Cities Hue has worked at the provincial level with Thua Thien Hue Province Tourism Department and Association to install water refill stations at its key heritage sites and has expanded its collaboration with the tourism businesses sector, addressing the increasing plastic waste production from tourism activities by educating and engaging businesses to implement sustainable business practices.
Free, Clean and Safe Drinking Water at Tourist Hotspots
As a committed Plastic Smart City, Hue organised multiple stakeholders across government departments and community groups such as the Department of Thua Thien Hue Province, the Party Committee of Hue City, Green Park Center’s Hue City People’s Committee, Hương Vinh Ward People’s Committee, and Phu Mau Commune People’s Committee to support the set-up and maintenance of rest stations with dedicated free water refill stations at five additional key tourist destinations in Hue city: the Thien Mu Pagoda, Bao Vinh Ancient Town, Half-Moon Bridge, Vong Canh Hill, and Sinh Village.
Since 2022, the PSC project in Hue has now supported the set-up of a total of nine rest and water refill stations at key tourism and heritage sites in Hue City – residents or tourists can use these amenities while visiting famous heritage sites in Hue, reducing their use of single-use plastics through the reuse and refill of their existing bottles.
Tourism Businesses Commit to Plastic Waste Reduction
Over 40 tourism businesses including hotels, tour companies, and restaurants have signed a commitment to implement plastic waste reduction in their operations. A well-regarded restaurant – An Nhien Garden – has committed to achieving zero-plastic waste, while 12 hotels have developed and are implementing a grassroots plastic reduction plan.
Travel Agencies Commit to Day Tours without Single-Use Plastics
Four travel companies under the Society of Travel Agents – Tourism Association of Thua Thien Hue Province (Hue Vacation Company, RESTOUR Travel Company, An Phu Travel Company and Drase Travel) made a commitment to practise reduction in single-use plastics for the one-day tours they offer in Hue City (up until at least September 2025). In the first 3 months of 2024, the companies reduced more than 3,300 water bottles, equivalent to about 46.2 kg of plastics.
Specifically, their commitment to reducing single-use plastics includes the following actions:
- Providing information on single-use plastic reduction practices to partners and customers.
- Recommending that tourists bring personal items such as water bottles, bags, umbrellas etc. to replace the single-use plastic items usually handed out to tourists (e.g. single-use water bottles, disposable ponchos, etc.)
- Loaning reusable water bottles for tourists who do not bring their own.
Tour guides will integrate key messages about environmental protection, sustainable living, and the importance of reducing single-use plastic products to tourists, while also informing them about waste disposal points, waste collection, and water refill stations throughout the journey. These companies have also committed to developing their own code of conduct on saving resources, classifying waste to support separation at source, and updating operating procedures to reduce plastic waste including disseminating this information to employees and suppliers through meetings, media events, and community campaigns.
Overcoming Teething Problems
During the implementation, the companies shared several challenges they encountered. Often, tourists did not pay enough attention to the plastic reduction policy and many would show up to tours without their own bottles or bags. Some tour guides also expressed concern that providing refillable water bottles for tourists to borrow was additional work and that tourists would lose them sometimes. There were also incidents of tourists who were unwilling to support the plastic reduction policy.
To overcome these challenges, companies are redesigning information sheets, guiding and persuading tour guides to ditch single-use plastic, especially disposable bottled water, and continue implementing the plastic reduction tour as committed.
Thua Thien Hue Province Leads the Way in Addressing Plastic Pollution
Plastic waste in the tourism industry is a big problem. UNEP estimated that worldwide, solid waste generated 4.8 million tons of waste from international tourism*. Reducing plastic waste in the tourism industry is an urgent issue. Implementing waste reduction will benefit businesses, communities, and countries, contributing to the sustainable development of the tourism industry and creating a trend of responsible consumption among tourists. Several other initiatives and key milestones in the plastic reduction tourism activities of Thua Thien Hue province include:
- Over 460 participants joined seven training courses to raise awareness and change behaviours on plastic reduction in hotels, tour groups & guides, and tourism destinations
- Four intensive training courses on developing plastic reduction plans were organised for the abovementioned 40+ hotels, tours, and community tourism destinations
- Four study tours on plastic waste reduction models for tourism service businesses
- One Thuy Bieu plan to reduce plastic waste was developed with 16 pioneer members
- SBC Royal ginseng tea company – a member of Hue Green Hub – has replaced their single-use plastic bottles with a reusable glass bottle and refill system
- A teaching module integrating plastic reduction factors according to the ‘6R principles’ in standard operating procedures taught at the Hue College of Tourism
- A digital platform with an interactive map to guide tourists searching for free water refill stations at public places and some businesses participating in plastic reduction are now available on khamphahue.com.vn & visithue.vn
