Hoa Sen University students and staff discard e-waste in a recycling dustbin on campus. (Photo: VNA) HCM City (VNS/VNA) - Scientific and technological advances stimulate demand for newer models of electrical and electronic products and disposal of outdated ones, which require proper recycling. Ten universities in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi are carrying out programmes to improve students’ knowledge of the harm caused by e-waste and encourage them to dispose of their waste in dustbins for recycling. They are cooperating with the Vietnam Recycles programme instituted by the Vietnam Recycling Platform (VRP), a consortium of leading producers of electrical and electronic equipment founded to reduce electronic waste, enhance recycling and manage the environmental, health and safety impacts of products at their end of their life cycles. Vietnam Recycles employees visit the universities to collect the e-waste and transport it to partner factories for safe disposal. Le Thi … [Read more...] about Recycling an urgent imperative in Vietnam as e-waste piles up
Vietnam pilots association
Vietnam unable to cash in on high tourist numbers
Vietnam attracted a record 14 million foreign tourists in the first 11 months of this year, up 21 percent year-on-year. The number could go as high as 15 million for the whole year, according to the General Statistics Office. The total number of foreign arrivals last year was 12.9 million. However, the country has not been able to cash in on this impressive growth in the number of foreign visitors. Survey results released by John Lindquist at the Vietnam Travel and Tourism Summit Wednesday showed that foreign tourists spent $96 a day on average in Vietnam last year, three times lower than in Singapore ($325), and well below that of the Philippines ($115), Indonesia ($132), Malaysia ($134), and Thailand ($163). Lindquist is a member of VisitBritain, the tourist board of the Great Britain, and a consultant of the U.S-backed Boston Consulting Group. According to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT), on average, a foreign visitor spent $900 on a trip to … [Read more...] about Vietnam unable to cash in on high tourist numbers
Tour guide rating piloted in Vietnam
(VEN) - With the aim of encouraging tour guides to improve their performance in order to better meet the needs of travellers, the Vietnam Tourism Association’s (VTA) Vietnam Tour Guides Association (VNTG) is launching a pilot program to rank guides on the basis of their knowledge and skills. According to VTA data, Vietnam currently has more than 23,000 guides for inbound and outbound tourism, and the figure is almost 30,000 if voice-over guides and guides at specific tourist attractions are taken into account. However, only about five percent of these guides have signed a work contract with tour operators, while the remaining 95 percent work on a freelance basis. VTA Chairman Vu The Binh said the service by freelance tour guides is often substandard, negatively affecting the tourism sector’s prestige. At some tourist attractions, guides are required to meet fewer and fewer conditions and requirements, he said. The EU has helped the VTA’s Vietnam Tour Guides … [Read more...] about Tour guide rating piloted in Vietnam
Vietnam to start rating tour guides
Vietnam to start rating tour guidesBy Dao Loan Some tour guides pose for a photo before welcoming international tourists disembarking from a cruise ship – PHOTO: DAO LOAN HCMC – The Vietnam Tour Guides Association under the Vietnam Tourism Association will this month start rating tour guides in a pilot program, classifying them into three levels from three to five stars. The ranking is based on three main criteria, including capacity (20% of the total score), knowledge (50%) and skills (30%). Tour guides who receive 51 points or more are ranked at the three-star, four-star or five-star levels. The program will be applied to members of the association during the initial phase and will then be expanded to cover all tour guides after the pilot ends and the associated criteria and regulations are completed. The pilot is slated to begin with the HCMC Tour Guide Association between October 22 and 24 and will be run in Hanoi City and Quang Ninh Province among other … [Read more...] about Vietnam to start rating tour guides
Vietnam to rank tour guides for first time
The Hanoitimes - The ranking will be conducted through the assessment of three main criteria which are capacity, knowledge, skills of the guide. The Vietnam Tourism Association (VITA) has announced the launch the “Vietnam Travel Guide Ranking” project with assistance from the European Union. Accordingly, the ranking will be conducted through the assessment of three main criteria: capacity, knowledge, and skills of the guide. Foreign visitors in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: VNA From early October to the end of 2018, the Vietnam Tour Guides Association (VNTG) will deploy the ranking in Ho Chi Minh City (from October 22 to 24), in Hanoi and Quang Ninh in November; and in other provinces and cities, such as Khanh Hoa, Lao Cai in December. This is the first time Vietnam implements such a program to encourage tour guides to strive to improve their professional skills and knowledge in order to better meet the needs of tourists. On the other hand, the ranking of tour … [Read more...] about Vietnam to rank tour guides for first time