The National Geographic Traveller magazine ratings that list Nha Trang
beach as a destination "facing trouble" have come as a warning to the
local administration on the need for sustainable tourism development and
management.
The comment was made by vice chairman of
the central coastal province of Khanh Hoa 's People's Committee
Le Xuan Than at a press briefing on Nov. 23.
The list
appears in the November/December 2010 issue owned by the National
Geographic Society's Centre for Sustainable Destinations.
Than said the province would pay more attention to sustainable tourism,
but also added that they have taken many actions to protect and improve
Nha Trang beach.
"The province has been investing
thousands of billions of Vietnamese dong in upgrading shortcomings in
the environment and landscape," he said.
Than said that
because Nha Trang beach is located near a populous city with heavy
tourism, it was difficult for it to receive high rankings based on
National Geographic Traveller magazine's criteria, which stresses
beaches' natural and untapped characteristics.
He said
that although the committee respected the ratings, newspapers and
magazines should provide enough information when quoting from the
magazine to avoid misunderstandings and negative effects on the tourism
sector of Khanh Hoa.
He particularly noted that Nha Trang
beach was listed among the top five beach destinations that "face
trouble", not among the "ten worst beach destinations" as was mentioned
by some newspapers and magazines.
"The committee will send
documents to the magazine to help them have more information and
pictures about Nha Trang beach," he said.
Based on six
standards, including environmental and ecological quality, social and
cultural integrity, the condition of historic buildings and
archaeological sites, aesthetic appeal, quality of tourism management,
and outlook for the future, Nha Trang received 43 points and was listed
as a beach that needs improvement.
To create the ratings,
the centre gathered an independent panel of 340 experts in fields from
historic preservation and sustainable tourism to travel writing and
archaeology to score 99 coastal hot spots around the world, using
categories such as "top rated," "doing well," "in the balance," "facing
trouble," and "bottom rated"./.
