Green Awareness Of Staff Is The Utmost Reward

On September 11, the seventh annual Green Day program will start at all six facilities of Victoria Hotels & Resorts in Vietnam and Cambodia, asserting its strong commitment to environment protection besides business. Eric Simard, managing director of Victoria Hotels & Resorts, has a talk with the Weekly about the program. Excerpts: Q: Victoria Hotels & Resorts is going to organize the 7th annual Green Day Program at its facilities in Vietnam and Cambodia. What are some important points of the program this year? A: As usual, our properties will work with local volunteers and authorities to launch various green activities. Victoria Sapa Resort & Spa will organize a clean-up around Sapa Lake, the stadium, the central square and tourist spots around the city such as Ta Van, Lao Chai and Cat Cat. Victoria staff will work alongside local school children, who are mostly from minority hill tribes, with the participation from local authorities and partners. Along Vietnam’s coastline, Victoria Phan Thiet Beach Resort & Spa will divide the clean-up into two areas, the main road and the beach. The resort expects around 350 participants including the pupils of Phu Hai School, the youth and women organizations of Phu Hai Ward, and 150 Victoria staff. Meanwhile, Victoria Hoi An Beach Resort & Spa will be cleaning the streets, the river and beach areas with the help of Hoi An Eco Tour. In the Mekong Delta, with the help of students from Thu Khoa Huan Secondary School, local residents and volunteers, Victoria Chau Doc Hotel is organizing a clean-up of Sam Mountain. Some 120km away, Victoria Can Tho Resort will be picking up garbage from the Hau River with the participation from hotel staff as well as Can Tho University and Can Tho Tourism College. In the neighboring country of Cambodia, Victoria Angkor Spa & Resort will organize a clean-up along the river in Siem Reap as the hotel wishes to promote environmental consciousness among the local community. It can be said that Victoria has organized the Green Day program successfully in the past six years. Why did the Victoria decide to organize the program annually from the onset? As Victoria is possibly the pioneering international group of hotels to be established in these remote locations in Vietnam, the company felt responsible to inculcate environmental consciousness at early stages so that future generations can continue to enjoy these beautiful destinations in pristine conditions. And needless to mention, such efforts can only be successful with the support from our dedicated team of local staff, provincial authorities, schools and various institutions. Which are the most significant achievements the Victoria has made in past years from the Green Day program? Apart from the numerous local and international awards our hotels has received for our green efforts, the most rewarding achievement is to see our local team of staff conscientiously being green every day within the hotel as well as in their own homes. What are the real values of the meaningful program? The ultimate purpose is to provide sustainable tourism in our destinations for future generations to enjoy. We have seen the negative impact of tourism development in many countries, and as more and more local communities become dependent on the tourism industry for their livelihood, it is crucial that we take the leading step in setting the perfect example in spreading the green message. Personally, which is your most impressive memory about the program? My most impressive moment was the Green Day event organized at Victoria Sapa three years ago as we worked with 1,500 pupils from 12 different schools from various remote villages. It took over two months of preparation with the school teachers for this large-scale cleaning-up event. We had to supervise the children carefully to ensure they do not pick up any dangerous items such as sharp objects or broken bottles. It was particularly significant to me that we were able to participate in such an educational program on the importance of preserving the ecology systems within the northern mountainous region. What will Victoria Hotels & Resorts do to strengthen its sustainable development in Vietnam? We will ensure that all of our renovation and refurbishment within existing properties will take green measures as top priority, and we will also constantly seek improvement in implementing more green policies. Each of our properties has an appointed Green Committee which consists of all leading department heads, and periodic meetings are held to ensure green initiatives are followed through.