Laos Tourism Beats Plastic Pollution – RefillMyBottle Vientiane is on!

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ovember 8th marks the date of the RefillMyBottle Vientiane official launch. Thank you to the Lao Hotel and Restaurant Association in collaboration with the Lao Association of Travel Agencies under the guidance of the Department of Tourism Development Department, Ministry of Information Culture and Tourism, and DICT of Vientiane Capital which has successfully organized the reception event, with the support of German Development Cooperation.

We had the opportunity to introduce the RefillMyBottle initiative to the public tourism sector in Vientiane, Laos during the workshop on the ASEAN Clean Tourist City Standard and to the private sector during the Lao Tourism Beats Plastic Pollution reception event in the evening. After the first successful pilot project in Luang Prabang with 48 refill stations, it is now time to implement the project in the capital city.

The evening reception at the Landmark Riverside Hotel was designed to share ideas and projects related to plastic waste reduction in the tourism industry. It was participated by many professionals in the industry, including the representatives of the hospitality sector, travel agencies, tour operator as well as development organizations and high-ranking government representatives.

During this visit, we also met with a number of local eco-warriors as well as responsible business owners, and it is so inspiring to see many of us taking part in protecting our planet. David, owner of EARTH cafe, has been adopting eco-friendly practices by eliminating paper towels and single-use plastic bottles. It was during his visit to Gili Islands in Indonesia that he was made aware of the refill initiative and he has been offering free water refills at his place since then. We are excited to announce and welcome EARTH Vientiane as the very first RefillMyBottle station.

Next time you travel to Laos, make sure to bring your reusable bottles!

Thank you again to the German Development Cooperation in Laos through the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and its Luang Prabang Handle with Care Project for inviting us again for the second time to the country.