Six Vietnam War Veterans Return to the Country 50 Years After the War's End

It was always going to be an emotional trip. When six men, veterans of the Vietnam War, decided to return to the country almost 50 years after the war’s end, it was bound to stir up difficult memories. They had been members of the Swift Boats, a famed U.S. Navy unit named for the high-speed aluminum boats deployed to patrol the 10,000 square miles of shallow waters of the Mekong Delta, the Ca Mau Peninsula, and other inland waterways of Vietnam. For those not old enough to remember the Swift Boat, check out Wikipedia.org for a refresher.

Vietnam is getting more and more popular among tourists. The number of foreign tourists reached an all-time high of 18 million in 2019, up 16.2 percent from the previous year. This is a good development for the country’s economy, but at the same time increases the risk of adversely disturbing the daily life of the average Vietnamese. At Global Basecamps we are committed to operating our Vietnam tours in a responsible way. But what does responsible tourism or ecotourism mean for us?