Reflecting on the Sustainable Journey with DMC Mekong IMAGE Travel & Events – Period: 2024-2025
IMAGE Travel & Events has been a certified Travelife Partner since 2017. Throughout the 2024–2025 period, we have experienced significant growth and maturity, guided by the principles and standards established by Travelife. These standards have served as a compass, helping us define clear sustainability goals and translate them into concrete action plans across all levels of the company.
From entry-level team members to senior management, sustainability responsibilities are now better understood and integrated into daily operations. The positive impact of this journey extends beyond our organization, influencing our business partners, suppliers, and clients, who have increasingly embraced and contributed to our shared commitment to responsible and sustainable tourism.
Beyond maintaining common environmental practices such as using rechargeable batteries, reusing single-sided paper, sorting waste at the source, and installing motion-sensor lighting, we have introduced a range of additional initiatives to further reduce our environmental footprint.
Within our office, simple yet effective measures have been implemented, including placing water-filled bottles inside toilet cisterns to reduce water consumption with each flush. We have also encouraged more sustainable eating habits by arranging for home-cooked meals prepared by employees’ family members, significantly reducing the use of disposable packaging associated with food delivery services.
To further limit plastic waste, all team members agreed to order beverages from outside only on Tuesdays and Thursdays, while making a conscious effort to avoid single-use plastics on other days. Many employees have gone even further by adopting the habit of carrying reusable water bottles and avoiding drinks served in disposable plastic cups altogether. While these changes initially required some adjustment, they have gradually become part of our company culture and everyday routine.
In addition, we provide a complimentary beverage corner in the office, offering coffee and tea to employees, creating both a convenient and environmentally friendly alternative to purchasing takeaway drinks.
In the outdoor areas of our office, we have deliberately avoided paving or concreting the entire space. Instead, we have preserved sections of natural ground, allowing the soil to absorb rainwater and maintain its natural ecological functions. We recognize that excessive surface sealing can contribute to water runoff, increase local temperatures, and reduce the land’s ability to support biodiversity.
Daily habits such as turning off lights and fans when leaving a room, keeping doors closed when air conditioning is in use, and maintaining a clean and organized workplace are also important aspects of our sustainability efforts.
To encourage these practices, team members regularly remind one another and promote a culture of shared responsibility. We have even introduced a light-hearted system of small penalties for those who forget these simple actions. The contributions collected are placed into a common fund, which is later used for team gatherings and celebrations. This approach not only helps reinforce environmentally responsible behavior but also strengthens team spirit and creates a positive, collaborative workplace culture.
Internal training and awareness building
We firmly believe that continuous training and repeated reinforcement are essential to embedding responsible tourism principles into our company culture. By regularly revisiting sustainability topics, responsible tourism gradually becomes second nature, enabling both employees and managers to apply sustainable practices more naturally and consistently in their daily work.
To support this objective, we organize an annual internal workshop dedicated to Travelife standards, our sustainability commitments, and the specific action plans we aim to implement. These sessions are designed to be highly participatory, allowing team members to share ideas, discuss challenges, and contribute suggestions before collectively agreeing on the most effective and practical course of action.
In addition to this annual sustainability workshop, we integrate responsible tourism topics into many of our professional training sessions throughout the year. These discussions cover not only the importance of sustainable tourism but also practical ways to present responsible travel experiences, sustainable activities, and environmentally and socially conscious services to our clients. By consistently incorporating these themes into staff development, we ensure that sustainability remains an integral part of how we design, promote, and deliver our travel experiences.
Travelife Training And Action Plans With Collegues
Responsible tourism products and services
Cutural Program
Responsible tourism principles are increasingly integrated into the travel experiences we design and recommend to our clients. Whenever feasible, we encourage the use of overnight train journeys as an alternative to domestic flights, offering a solution that is not only more environmentally friendly but also provides travelers with a unique and authentic travel experience.
When planning itineraries, we carefully select restaurants located within walking distance of hotels, allowing guests to enjoy their evenings without relying on taxis or other motorized transportation. We also prioritize low-impact modes of exploration such as walking tours, cycling excursions, traditional cyclo rides, and rowing boats whenever appropriate, favoring these experiences over motorized vehicles and boats.
Community-based tourism and homestay experiences in remote areas have become an important part of our product portfolio. These experiences are highly appreciated by our clients because they offer genuine cultural exchanges and meaningful interactions with local communities. At the same time, they help distribute tourism benefits more evenly, reducing pressure on overcrowded tourist attractions, limiting traffic congestion, and easing the burden on local infrastructure and services.
Supplier selection is another key component of our sustainability strategy. We evaluate accommodation providers, activity operators, restaurants, and other partners using dedicated sustainability checklists. These assessments are conducted during site inspections by our team or, when necessary, with the support of trusted local guides and representatives who help us verify compliance with our responsible tourism standards.
In 2025, we completed the development of our own travel management and booking platform. As part of this project, we integrated sustainability criteria directly into the system, highlighting products, services, and suppliers that we consider to be more responsible and sustainable. This enables both our travel consultants and our clients to more easily identify and prioritize environmentally and socially responsible travel options when designing their journeys.
Activities that may harm the environment, wildlife, or local culture have been gradually removed from our tour programs. We carefully assess each activity before including it in an itinerary and avoid experiences that could create negative impacts on destinations or local communities.
Finally, we believe that a sustainable product alone does not guarantee a sustainable tour. The behavior and awareness of everyone involved are equally important.
For this reason, before each departure, we share our responsible travel guidelines with guests, tour guides, and local service providers. These guidelines encourage simple but meaningful actions that help protect the environment, respect local cultures, and support local communities. Through this shared commitment, all stakeholders can contribute to making each journey more responsible and sustainable.
Promoting Responsible Tourism
Beyond improving our own practices, we actively share and promote responsible tourism within the wider industry. We regularly participate in discussions, meetings, and local initiatives related to sustainable tourism. Even during partner visits and internal business meetings, sustainability remains a recurring topic that we encourage others to consider and adopt.
Ms.hà Marcom Manager Is Sharing In Van Lang University
In late 2025, we organized a workshop for tour guides to discuss issues related to child protection and local waste management. The event provided a platform for participants to exchange experiences and identify practical solutions that could be implemented in their daily work.
Responsible Tourism Workshop For Tour Guides
Responsible tourism is also integrated into our annual educational trips and guide training programs, where participants present case studies, share best practices, and learn from one another’s experiences in the field.
We continue to serve as the coordinator of the WAFORT Responsible Tourism Community, bringing together tourism professionals and companies committed to more sustainable tourism development. We are also a member of the Safe Destination Initiative and regularly contribute to discussions and publications on responsible tourism through Saigon Tiep Thi magazine and other industry platforms.
Supporting Local Communities and Future Generations
We believe that sustainable tourism also means investing in people and supporting future generations. As a member of the French Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Vietnam (CCIFV), we regularly participate in and support charitable initiatives such as Foot For Hope and tree-planting activities aimed at environmental restoration and community engagement.
Foot-for-hope-2025-14
We are also a sponsor of the annual Young Reporter Competition organized by Le Courrier du Vietnam. Through this initiative, we encourage young French-speaking talents to develop their language skills, expand their career opportunities, and maintain their passion for French, helping to build a stronger talent pool for the tourism industry in the future.
Within our company, we offer free tour guide training courses led by our CEO, Mr. Nguyễn Ngọc Toản, for young people who speak less common foreign languages and aspire to become professional tour guides. This program helps address the shortage of qualified multilingual guides while creating new career opportunities for young talents.
Each year, we also welcome numerous interns from tourism and marketing schools in Ho Chi Minh City, providing them with practical industry exposure and a solid foundation before entering the workforce. In addition, we create opportunities for young people with little or no experience to participate in airport assistance services and city tours under the supervision of experienced professionals, allowing them to gain valuable field experience while receiving fair compensation for their work.
Last December 2025, we also sponsored a football tournament for flood victims in Central Vietnam.
Our Ceo Sponsor For Football Cup For Central Region In Vietnam After Inondation
Our last words,
This report provides only a summary of the main initiatives and achievements that have shaped our sustainability journey during 2024–2025. Behind these key actions are many smaller daily efforts, decisions, and improvements that are not always visible but collectively contribute to our commitment to responsible tourism.
We recognize that sustainability is not a destination but an ongoing process of learning, adapting, and improving. While we are proud of the progress made so far, we remain committed to further strengthening our practices, engaging our stakeholders, and creating positive impacts for local communities, the environment, and future generations.
Every small action matters, and together they help build a more sustainable future for tourism.
Tran Ngoc Phuong Ha
