Pop-up eco-resort wins 1st Good Travel Seal for Vietnam

The certification was officially announced on the Good Travel Guide, a global platform highlighting destinations and tourism operators that meet sustainability standards. 

The Good Travel Seal is a sustainability certification developed by Green Destinations, an organization that supports sustainable tourism worldwide.

Nguyen Manh Binh San, founder and owner of Lang Nho Eco-tourism Village, said the recognition validates a model that he believes is particularly suited to Vietnam’s tourism landscape. 

He described the village’s 'pop-up resort' approach as combining low-impact construction methods with a renewable energy system, offering what he sees as a practical response to both Vietnam’s natural conditions and the realities faced by tourism businesses.

San noted that Vietnam holds a major advantage in its rich natural resources, while much of its tourism industry remains small to medium in scale.

“This model allows tourism to grow sustainably with reasonable investment costs, high flexibility, and strong adaptability, not only to natural conditions but also to shifts in the market,” he said.

For Lang Nho, the certification is also a test of whether its flexible concept can meet global expectations. 

To earn Level 1, Lang Nho’s movable and adaptable pop-up resort model was assessed against 62 sustainability criteria drawn from the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) framework.

The requirements span 10 areas, from transparent management and fair working conditions to local job creation through community-based employment. 

They also cover community contributions, preservation of local culture, protection of nature and biodiversity, emissions reduction and climate-change adaptation, water management, waste and pollution reduction, and support for sustainable supply chains and food systems.

San added that certification under the Good Travel Seal is evidence that the pop-up resort model is not only economically viable, but also capable of meeting increasingly demanding standards for sustainable tourism development.

About the Good Travel Seal

The program is built on criteria from GSTC, which sets internationally used benchmarks for sustainable tourism. 

Level 1, or Bronze, is the entry tier, recognizing operators that meet verified baseline standards. 

GSTC standards are recognized and recommended by UN Tourism and the United Nations Environment Program, as well as many governments and international organizations.