On a light note now.
Eco-friendly villages are looking to advance sustainable tourism practices in the Asia-Pacific region and my colleague Lee Soo-jin sheds light on such green destinations over in the Philippines as well as here in South Korea.
Do take a look.
It’s that time of the year when the urge to travel goes up with the temperature, but now more travelers are looking for ways to help the planet when they go on vacation.
And that’s why leaders in the political world and tourism sector met in Cebu on Friday to discuss how to meet the demand for sustainable tourism at the 36th Joint Meeting of the UN Tourism Commission for East Asia and the Pacific.
“We must go green in the transformation of our tourism products I am of the belief that the greener you are, the better the tourism experience will be.”
And one way countries in the Asia-Pacific region offer sustainable tourism is through eco-friendly villages.
“One such eco-friendly village here in the Philippines is Bojo, which was named one of UN Tourism’s Best Tourism Villages in 2021 for its commitment to sustainability and promoting local communities.”
Tourists can travel down the Bojo River, which spans 1-point-4 kilometers in eco-friendly wooden boats where they are surrounded by mangrove trees and sounds of more than 60 bird species.
And these sustainable practices have also reached the local population, as the traditional dance performances for those who visit Bojo have created jobs.
At another eco-friendly village where the Bojo River enters the ocean, locals weave fiber ropes from the husks of coconuts to create biodegradable tents.
There are also cooking demonstrations, keeping the village’s traditions alive through food.
Tours of eco-friendly villages are also available at two villages on South Korea’s Jeju Island that were recognized as Best Tourism Villages last year.
Sehwa Village keeps its local traditions alive by allowing tourists to experience the “haenyeo” culture, and this also provides a chance for the female divers to make extra income.
Dongbaek Village promotes local products made with camellias, from which the village got its name, to produce oil that is used to create various local dishes.
And these tour options have wide-reaching positive effects.
“It is a huge contributor to the balance of payments, to income and we see that through many programs that we have ourselves, like tourism for rural development where we have a lot of villages in Korea as well.”
She added that to keep the momentum of eco-friendly bilateral tourism going, countries will need to work together to ease visa regulations and increase air capacity.
Lee Soo-jin, Arirang News, Cebu.
Source : Arirang TV, https://www.arirang.com/news/view?id=272692
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