Advancing green growth in the tourism sector: The case of Hue, Vietnam

This case study examines the 'Sustainable Urban Tourism through Low Carbon Initiatives' project in Hue, Vietnam, which aimed to reduce the carbon footprint of the city's tourism sector while promoting local economic development. The initiative identified the promotion of traditional 'garden houses' as a primary strategy for climate mitigation and job creation, leveraging their role as carbon sinks and their ability to support non-motorised transport.

• In 2011, the tourism sector in Hue produced approximately 492,200 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e). The vast majority of these emissions, 75%, were attributed to visitors traveling from other cities within the country and from abroad, while travel within the city accounted for only 1%.
• The promotion of Hue's approximately 2,000 traditional garden houses was identified as the most viable mitigation option to simultaneously reduce emissions and create jobs. These houses act as carbon sinks, facilitate household waste management through composting, and reduce freight emissions by producing local fruits and vegetables.
• Promoting garden houses is estimated to attract 20% to 40% more visitors. If these tourists are encouraged to use bicycles or cyclos, it could replace 127,950–255,900 kilometres of annual travel by petrol vehicles, reducing land-based transport emissions within the city by 4–9% (approximately 100–200 tons of CO2e per year).
• The garden house initiative provides socioeconomic benefits, particularly for the poor and middle-aged women, who find better-paid employment as gardeners or restaurant workers. It also generates additional income for non-motorised vehicle operators, such as cyclo drivers, who transport tourists to these sites located outside the central area.
• A significant trade-off exists where local green initiatives may reduce in situ emissions, but the resulting increase in tourist numbers may lead to higher overall greenhouse gas emissions due to travel to the city, which outweighs the local reductions from non-motorised transport.
• The success of the initiative was supported by several enabling factors: a proven business model using 'green' tours, the dual benefit of mitigation and income generation, public-private partnerships with NGOs like the Centre for Encouragement of Self Reliance (CESR), and the support of a 'champion' in the vice-chair of the People’s Committee of Hue.
• Administrative inefficiency remains a barrier to the long-term conservation of garden houses. Slow administrative processes and insufficient financial support—where owners may receive only 100 million Vietnamese dong for repairs costing billions—leave many heritage sites in danger of disrepair.

APA

Kusakabe, K., Shrestha, P., Kumar, S., & Nguyen, K. L. (2014). Advancing green growth in the tourism sector: The case of Hue, Vietnam. Climate and Development Knowledge Network. http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Hue-Inside-Story_WEB.pdf

Chicago

Kusakabe, Kyoko, Pujan Shrestha, S. Kumar, and Khanh Linh Nguyen. Advancing green growth in the tourism sector: The case of Hue, Vietnam. Climate and Development Knowledge Network, 2014. http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Hue-Inside-Story_WEB.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Kusakabe |first1=Kyoko |last2=Shrestha |first2=Pujan |last3=Kumar |first3=S. |last4=Nguyen |first4=Khanh Linh |title=Advancing green growth in the tourism sector: The case of Hue, Vietnam |publisher=Climate and Development Knowledge Network |date=May 2014 |url=http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Hue-Inside-Story_WEB.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{kusakabe2014advancing, author = {Kusakabe, Kyoko and Shrestha, Pujan and Kumar, S. and Nguyen, Khanh Linh}, title = {{Advancing green growth in the tourism sector: The case of Hue, Vietnam}}, institution = {Climate and Development Knowledge Network}, year = {2014}, month = may, url = {http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Hue-Inside-Story_WEB.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }