In recent years, Khanh Hoa tourism has continuously recorded impressive growth. Stepping into 2026, the province sets a higher target by striving to welcome 18.8 million visitors, with revenue reaching 78.100 billion VND.
The scale of tourism infrastructure is also increasingly expanding. The whole province currently has 1,441 accommodation establishments with more than 70,500 rooms, creating jobs for hundreds of thousands of workers and leading to the development of many related fields such as transportation, trade, and agriculture.
However, the rapid growth of the tourism industry also poses many environmental challenges. The large number of visitors leads to an increase in waste volume, in which disposable plastic waste is becoming a matter of concern in many tourist areas, beaches and attractions.
According to Mr. Cung Quynh Anh - Deputy Director of Khanh Hoa Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, to protect the tourism environment, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has integrated sustainable development criteria into the management and operation of the tourism industry. In which, environmentally friendly business models are encouraged to develop.
The issue of minimizing plastic waste has been included in strategic orientations and national action plans, combining sustainable management, climate adaptation and synchronous policy support" - Mr. Cung Quynh Anh said.
From a local perspective, Khanh Hoa is also gradually concretizing these policies. In 2025, the Provincial People's Committee issued a set of green tourism standards applied to accommodation establishments and attractions in the area.
In this set of standards, many requirements related to reducing plastic waste are clearly stipulated such as removing disposable plastic water bottles, replacing plastic trash bags with environmentally friendly materials, and limiting plastic products in activities serving tourists.
However, according to the assessment of the tourism industry, the current implementation is still mainly at the encouragement level, not mandatory. Therefore, the number of establishments that actually transform towards limiting plastic waste is still quite limited.
According to assessments by tourism experts, for Khanh Hoa - one of the largest marine tourism centers in the country - promoting green tourism models, especially reducing plastic waste, not only helps protect the marine ecosystem but also contributes to enhancing the image of the destination.
In the context of increasingly fierce competition between tourist destinations, efforts to transform towards sustainability are seen as the key to helping Khanh Hoa tourism continue to maintain its attractiveness and long-term development.
