Administrators in the southern Vietnamese province of Ba Ria - Vung Tau on Tuesday launched an initiative encouraging businesses and office buildings to open their toilet doors to tourists, hoping to make up for a lack of public restrooms, especially in the provincial resort city of Vung Tau.

Answering the call of nature can be a headache for visitors in touristic localities across Vietnam, as there are not enough public restrooms.

Comfort as Home, an initiative put forward by the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism in 2018, seeks to encourage businesses, office buildings, government agencies, cafés and hotels to allow visitors to use their toilets free of charge to partially settle the issue.

The administration of Ba Ria - Vung Tau responded to the initiative on Tuesday, calling on entities in the province, particularly those in Vung Tau, to permit tourists to relieve themselves in their toilets.

Hundreds of establishments, including 30 coffee shops, restaurants, and government agencies, have signed up for the program, offering to open a combined 1,200 restrooms to visitors gratis.

Participating establishments will display “Comfort as Home” signs to let people know they are opening their toilets without charging users or forcing them to use their services.

According to Trinh Hang, director of Ba Ria – Vung Tau's tourism department, the initiative will contribute to the province’s efforts to adopt green and clean tourism development.

It can be seen as a solution to the current issue of public urination, she added.

Since it was initiated in August 2018, Comfort as Home has been embraced by such localities as the central cities of Hue and Da Nang.

Tourists can download the “Comfort as Home” app for their iOS and Android devices to find such bathrooms.

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