Tapping huge potential of sea and island tourism coupled with preserving natural landscapes was discussed at an international conference jointly held by Ton Duc Thang University and the National Penghu University of Science and Technology, Taiwan (China) on August 1.
The event drew the participation of over 40 researchers, lecturers as well as tourism students from Australia, Austria, Canada, Japan, Taiwan, the UK and the US.
Experience in sea tourism model development as well as education activities on environmental protection were shared at the conference. Some researchers also analysed impacts of tourism development on the socio-economy and local livelihoods while highlighting public efforts to develop tourism sustainably.
Speaking at the event, Tran Trong Dao, Vice Rector of Ton Duc Thang University, underlined that Viet Nam boasts huge potential for sea tourism development, however, unprofessional investment in human resources and shortage of highly-competitive tourism products have hampered the development.
Meanwhile, Chun-Chieh Hu from the National Penghu University of Science and Technology said that sea tourism development strategies are built based on scientific research evaluating the influence of technology on natural environment and local residents.
Other participants also agreed that enhancing quality of high-ranking tourism managers plays a key role in developing sea-island tourism in line with global trend.