A scene in “The essence of the North” play is a bright spot of Vietnam's cultural tourism. (Photo: CTV/Vietnam+) Hanoi (VNA) - At the forum “Development of Vietnam's cultural tourism” that took place on April 14, Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Ta Quang Dong shared with the press about the development of Vietnam’s tourism through traditional culture.
Utilising cultural treasures to promote tourism
- How can Vietnam leverage its rich cultural heritage to attract more tourists, Sir?
Deputy Minister Ta Quang Dong: At the forum, we showcased the “Four Great Scenes - Vietnamese Legends” project, which aims to attract visitors by promoting cultural tourism through performing arts and cutting-edge sound and light technology, including 3D mapping and real-time virtual technology.
However, it is necessary to acknowledge that we currently lack effective strategies to promote cultural tourism. Vietnam has a rich and diverse history, with many interesting stories, but the challenge lies in how we can effectively promote it.
The world’s experience has shown that promoting cultural values through artistic performances is one of the quickest, most effective and interesting ways to reach audiences and tourists.
Therefore, we should design artistic performance programmes that highlight cultural values and showcase untold stories from Vietnam’s folklore, which have yet to be explored.
Art performance with the support of modern technology to tell Vietnamese cultural stories. (Photo: PV/Vietnam+) We have spent a lot of time building a programme to translate art performances into tourist destinations. These daily shows will be staged in big cities.
Through such performances, we can bring Vietnamese culture to international friends, spreading the traditional cultural values of the Vietnamese people abroad.
For domestic tourism, we also want to incorporate culture into tourism so that people can gain an insight into Vietnam’s traditional culture.
Cultural stories that contain traditional ethnic forms, integrated into artistic performances for tourists, are now being staged with the application of new technologies such as 3D mapping and real-time virtual.
I believe that this will not only elevate the image of Vietnamese culture but also contribute to building the Vietnamese tourism brand, promoting the image of the country while having high educational value.
- How do you evaluate the importance of culture in promoting tourism products to further develop a green economy?
Deputy Minister Ta Quang Dong: Up until now, we have mainly utilised tangible cultural heritage, such as relics. However, culture is not solely comprised of tangible heritages and relics.
Intangible cultural elements also play a significant role in enhancing the value of heritage and monuments.
Therefore, we need to develop new promotional methods and innovative ways to attract more tourists to Vietnam.
By combining national cultural traditions and elevating intangible cultural values, we can take Vietnamese culture to a new level.
An art performance programme imbued with traditional culture in the five-star entertainment and resort in Phu Quoc. (Photo: Vietnam+) Cinema helps promote tourism destinations
- Cinema is a field that can easily create great attraction. In your opinion, what trends should be explored in the cinematic element to align with the development of tourism?
Deputy Minister Ta Quang Dong: This is the first time that the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has aimed to merge culture with tourism.
We have seen Vietnamese blockbusters generating revenues of 400-500 billion VND and being showcased in major markets such as the US, Canada, and at major film festivals worldwide.
Additionally, major movie channels worldwide have chosen to feature many Vietnamese films, which serves as a powerful and effective method of promoting Vietnam, including its tourist destinations.
Combining cinema with Vietnamese tourist destinations will be an effective strategy to attract more international tourists and promote Vietnam to the world through the power of cinema, ultimately positioning Vietnam as a top destination.
- What significance do you think this forum holds in the current context of Vietnamese tourism?
Deputy Minister Ta Quang Dong: The forum represents an important and potentially groundbreaking step towards closely integrating culture into tourism, which is a crucial direction for the tourism industry.
Moving forward, we can leverage the rich core values that have been developed over more than 4,000 years of history to foster sustainable tourism development.
Deputy Minister Ta Quang Dong. (Photo: Vietnam+) - Cultural tourism is recognised as one of the 12 sectors in Vietnam’s cultural industry development strategy. What policies do you think are necessary to attract investors to develop cultural tourism products, as many localities have already successfully implemented this model?
Deputy Minister Ta Quang Dong: I believe that creating specific policies for the tourism industry, particularly in the area of taxation, and developing tailored programmes for each locality is crucial. Every locality has its unique strengths.
In addition to receiving investment in tourism development from the central government through guidelines and policies, each locality should identify its strengths to create specific tourism products.
This approach will facilitate the creation of new policies within the legal framework to promote sustainable tourism development.
- Thank you very much!
