Making tourism trash-free: How businesses across Asia are creating new models for zero-waste tourism

Tourism is transforming many of the world's most beautiful and culturally-significant places into dumping grounds for plastic waste - something that no resident or tourist wants to experience. Tourists generate significantly more waste per capita than local residents, and hotels and restaurants add to the problem with their heavy reliance on single-use plastics. But tourism doesn't have to be at odds with environmental preservation. In fact, it can be a valuable and powerful sector to test and scale zero-waste models. This World Tourism Day on Sept. 25, we're showcasing how businesses in Vietnam and China are developing new models for sustainable tourism while supporting resilient livelihoods and ecosystems in the process.

What zero-waste tourism looks like

The goal of "zero waste" is to minimize the amount of waste being generated in the first place. Reuse, recycling and material sorting are maximized so that resources are repurposed and waste is managed effectively so it doesn't end up in the environment.

In order to accomplish this, zero-waste tourism creates new systems to make non-toxic, reuse systems available and convenient for tourists. For example, instead of offering single-use personal care items such as shampoo, hotels and other tourist accommodations can convert to large refillable containers in each room. Tourism agencies may have metal water bottles available for tourists to borrow (and know locations where bottles can be filled during expeditions) instead of encouraging tourists to purchase single-use plastic bottles.

Launching the Vietnam Zero Waste Tourism Network

Each year, approximately 18 million tourists visit Vietnam, exploring the country's natural wonders and cultural heritage sites. But with this growing influx of visitors comes a growing plastic pollution crisis.

In July 2025, Pacific Environment and the Da Nang City Tourism Association (formerly the Quang Nam Tourism Association) launched the Vietnam Zero Waste Tourism Network in historic Hoi An, Vietnam, alongside businesses, civil society organizations, media and local government representatives.

• Who's involved: The network is designed to further connect people across Vietnam's tourism sector, including government, businesses, local residents and tourists.
• Where it's starting: Currently focused on businesses in Da Nang, with plans to expand to other provinces.
• What it aims to do: Support at least 100 hotels and other tourism businesses to create and implement plastic phase-out targets by 2026, and then grow the network to include more businesses in other regions of Vietnam.

Many hotels and local businesses in Vietnam have already begun to switch from single-use plastic products to reusable product models. Non-toxic reusables often include natural materials that have been traditionally used before the meteoric rise of single-use plastic, such as bamboo, ceramics and banana leaves.

Examples in action

• In Hoi An, more travel accommodations are eliminating single-use plastic products, adopting reusables and composting on site. Some new tourism businesses are staying away from single-use plastic entirely. The Namia River Retreat has not used any single-use plastic products since they opened, and they are dedicated to furthering zero-waste initiatives on site.
• The Cu Lao Cham Islands, a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve, banned plastic bags in 2009; Pacific Environment helped support efforts by local communities and the MPA staff to strengthen implementation of the ban through applying zero waste principles including setting up materials recovery facilities (MRFs).
• Refillables Dong Day, a popular reuse and refill shop in Hoi An, has prevented more than 156,000 containers from ending up in landfills by offering a variety of environmentally-friendly and affordable personal care and home products to refill reusable containers.

Mr. Vo Dang Phong, former vice chairman of Hoi An People's Committee, is interested in reducing the impact of waste on the environment for future generations. "As a state management agency, I think that in addition to the support of the Tourism Association and Hoi An's consultants, I hope to have more advice from experts and partners. Currently, there are 1,300 to 1,400 business households in the old town [generating] about 100 tons of waste per day. It is necessary to advise local authorities on effective methods to encourage and communicate to business households and enterprises to reduce waste," he says.

Promoting waste-free hotels in China

In China, Pacific Environment has also worked closely with local partners to promote waste-free hotels. According to estimates by the Institute of Circular Economy at Tsinghua University, China's hotel industry consumed a total of 73,000 tons of single-use plastics in 2020. Many hotels wrap clean bath towels, tableware and plastic bottles in an additional plastic film printed with "Disinfected, please use with confidence." Now, many hotels have removed this extra plastic wrapping.

China also has policies requiring hotels to refrain from proactively providing single-use plastic products. Over the past year, more than 150 hotels have committed to stop offering disposable plastic products and replace them with reusable items while also encouraging guests to bring their own toiletries.

Growing demand for green tourism

Residents and tourists alike are showing more interest in green tourism, with a growing focus on reducing waste while traveling. According to a Booking.com survey, 71% of travelers say they want to leave the places they visit better than when they arrived, up from 66% last year. In Vietnam, 46% of tourists believe that waste and pollution from tourism activities are a major challenge for local communities, while 56% expect improvements in waste management to move toward a more sustainable tourism industry. These numbers are only increasing and show an important paradigm shift: Travelers want to reduce waste and make sustainable choices during their travels.

Why sustainable tourism matters

Developing sustainable tourism is essential not only for protecting the environment, but also for securing livelihoods. Tourism is one of the world's most important economic sectors. In Vietnam, tourism is now a major driver of the economy, and is expected to grow over 6% of the country's GDP contribution. In China, the travel and tourism sector is estimated to contribute ¥13.7 trillion to the economy in 2025, a 23% increase from the previous year and supporting over 82 million jobs. But it's not just Vietnam and China. Globally, tourism employs one in every 10 people on Earth, and provides livelihoods to hundreds of millions more.

"The Vietnam Zero Waste Tourism Network and similar projects are a major step forward to prevent plastic waste, build and preserve the brand of 'green destinations,' and ensure stable livelihoods," says Xuan Quach, Vietnam country director at Pacific Environment.

How you can make a difference when traveling

Next time you travel - whether close to home or across the world - make sure to bring reusables (such as a reusable water bottle, cutlery and a tote bag), choose eco-friendly transportation options and opt for tourism agencies and accommodations that are committed to zero-waste and plastic-free policies and employ local people. It's time to travel more consciously, seek out destinations transitioning to zero waste and leave places just as beautiful as (or cleaner than) we found them.