Locals help clean up trash on a beach on Cô Tô Island. — VNA/VNS Photo

QUẢNG NINH — Cô Tô island district in the northeastern province of Quảng Ninh has asked local accommodation facilities and travel firms to apply environmental protection measures in tourism business activities to build an island free of plastic bags and other single-use items.

According to head of the Culture-Information and Tourism Division of Cô Tô Nguyễn Hải Linh, the island is likely to welcome a large number of visitors in summer.

Authorities have requested local accommodations and tourism businesses to increase the use of environment-friendly and recycled products, Linh said.

The official said that in 2024, the district will encourage all tourists not to bring plastic bags to the island and strictly implement the codes of conduct for Cô Tô tourism and environment.

Accommodation establishments and tour operators that do not inform tourists about plastic reduction practices must be fully responsible for any problems that arise, he underlined.

Since August 2022, Cô Tô has implemented communications activities to encourage tourists and residents not to use plastic bags and disposable items on the island. From September 15, 2023, the district prohibited tourists from bringing single-use plastic items to the island.

In July 2020, the district invested in a new incinerator system with a designed capacity of treating 750kg per hour, handling about 70 per cent of the daily waste generated there.

However, as Cô Tô is located near the intersection of ocean currents, it is subject to "seasonal landings" of waste from the ocean.

Therefore, environmental and waste issues are still major problems facing the popular tourist destination, especially during the peak tourist season. — VNS