Responsible Travel Club of Viet Nam

The Responsible Travel Club (RTC) of Viet Nam is an informal group of tour operators dedicated to building responsible travel and sustainable tourism in all regions in Viet Nam.

What to experience?

If you want your travel to create real positive impact and value in the destinations, and at the same time experience genuine community based tourism, go with one of them. Each CBT tour tries to enhance the interaction between the local host and guests so they can exchange on their respective culture. For examples the local host and his family are invited to have meals with guests.

After three years of running an association of responsible tour operators working towards responsible and sustainable tourism, RTC has become a platform between Tour Operators and the CBT sites they are working with. RTC organizes annually an inspection trip for their members and invite NGOs working in developing CBT in Viet Nam such as SNV and WWF, FPSC Spain to join. During the trip, experiences from each party are exchanged, open and free discussions have become a connection for all stakeholders for mutual benefits.

They work closely with local communities and ethnic tribes to optimise their benefits from tourism and, seek financial support from NGOs and donors, such as in Chieng Yen, or Ngoc Son Ngo Luong. Created by Footprint Vietnam Travel, ActiveTravel Asia, Sisters Tours, Indochina Travelland, and GSO Travel, their members now include: Vietnam Discovery Travel, Tonkin Travel, and Aurora Travel.

How does it help?

Some members give back 5% of their profit to the communities they visit, which they use to build infrastructures such as schools, library. All decisions are in hand of local people. They are the one who set the prices, welcome the guests.

Activities they conduct are tackling the key elements, which enable to improve tourism impacts. For example, realising that the quality and ethics of many tour guides were alarming, RTC has been working on improving the quality of guides behaviour and knowledge and set up the RTC network of responsible guides. They also organise workshops and training sessions, developed a Code of conducts for travellers as well as for staff on conserving natural and cultural heritage which is applied by its members. Their next step is to identify and grade eco friendly hotels in Hanoi.

Workshops they organised include:

- Workshop in La vie Vu Linh, Yen Bai Province for RTC members and member’s staff on “Environmental impacts of tourism on responsible development”.

- Applied “Green Office” model for RTC responsible tour operators with the technical support from Enerteam.

- Clean-up and Trash-bin Giving in Co To Island

Contact Details

NGO Responsible Travel Club of Vietnam (RTC)

10A1 Ly Nam De, Hanoi, Vietnam

Tel: 39332844

Email: rtcvietnam@gmail.com

Website: www.rtcvietnam.org

Vietnamese Tour Companies support Eco and Responsible Travel in Vietnam & Indochina

Eco and Responsible travel now are the way of traveling while respecting and benefiting local environment, cultures, practices and economy. It also highlights significant elements of how to improve standard of living for ethnic poor communities, educate local people to protect the environment, help in reducing carbon emission, and helping nature by planting trees, protecting endangered animals.

Besides that responsible tourism can also include efforts to help humanity by giving to the people in need, by volunteering time and knowledge, treat them or take care of their special needs.

Eco Travel in Vietnam

A group of companies that have founded responsible travel club in Vietnam (www.rtcvietnam.org) and Indochina include ACTIVETRAVEL ASIA( www.activetravel.asia/responsible_travel/ ). They co-operated with NGO’s such as SNV (Netherlands Development Organization) and Caritas Switzerland and created their products which are included the activities that not only give travelers the chance to discover the destinations in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos, but show them who to improve local standard of living and protect the environment while their travels.

Some of the ATA tours are, Ha Giang Tour or Adventure in Northern Vietnam: An Eco-experience. The former is a 14 days, 10 nights tour which combines sightseeing with visits to local communities and ethnic cultural villages. During this tour you will be using motorbikes en route. During the tour the travelers will stop at some villages and learn how NGOs are helping in preserving the Vietnam culture and heritage and how travelers can contribute towards it.

Travelers also get to explore the local culture as part of responsible travel through cultural ceremonies. ACTIVETRAVEL ASIA and Caritas expect to educate ethnic communities in Quang Ba, Ha Giang how to accommodate travelers and protect travel resources. Children in Ha Giang do not have the much resources to educate themselves and this helps in giving them some form assistance to get educated and also make you feel good about your contribution to these children.

The above is just one of the ACTIVETRAVEL ASIA Responsible Travel products. There are several others which are coming soon in 2011 include countries such as Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos .