Attracting tourists from cinema

The seminar "Vietnam - New destination of world cinema" was jointly organized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Nhan Dan Newspaper in Hanoi. Photo: HL

Linking cinema and tourism

At the seminar, Party Central Committee member, Editor-in-Chief of Nhan Dan Newspaper, Deputy Head of the Central Propaganda Department, Chairman of the Vietnam Journalists Association Le Quoc Minh affirmed that our Party and State always attach importance to tourism development, making tourism a spearhead economic sector. "Domestic tourism is recovering spectacularly. Promoting communication and promotion, building communication and promotion programs, and communication campaigns in new ways is extremely necessary," comrade Le Quoc Minh emphasized.

Affirming that cinema is a great resource for tourism development, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Van Hung said that among the 12 fields of the cultural industry, cinema and tourism are the two key sectors. The connection between these two sectors will be an important driving force to promote economic development. "The connection between cinema and tourism is a right direction and an inevitable trend to effectively develop and promote tourism", Mr. Nguyen Van Hung stated.

Member of the Party Central Committee, Editor-in-Chief of Nhan Dan Newspaper, Deputy Head of the Central Propaganda Department, President of the Vietnam Journalists Association Le Quoc Minh speaks. Photo: HL

In fact, countries around the world have been exploiting the effectiveness of cinema in propaganda, promotion and attracting tourists. According to statistics, since 2001, after the release of the "Lord of the Rings" films, the number of international visitors to New Zealand has increased by 50%. In the UK, during the period 2011-2014, the "Harry Potter" series helped increase the number of foreign tourists visiting film sets in this country by 230%. The beautiful locations in Croatia, Iceland, Northern Ireland, Scotland... appearing in the movie "Game of Thrones" have also become tourist attractions after the movie was released.

In Vietnam, with beautiful natural scenery, many locations of Vietnam such as Quang Binh, Ninh Binh, Dien Bien, Phu Yen... have been chosen by international directors as filming locations, including famous films such as: "The Lover", "Indochina", "The Quiet American", "Peter Pan", "Kong: Skull Islands". Some famous international television studios and singers also come to Vietnam to film such as: Good Morning America, BBC documentary, singer Alan Walker filming MV...

Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Van Hung affirmed the effectiveness of the cooperation between cinema and tourism. Photo: HL

Talking about the effectiveness of attracting tourists from film activities, Director of Ninh Binh Province Department of Tourism Bui Van Manh said that in 1992, the film "Indochina" had some scenes filmed in Ha Long Bay, Thai Hoa Palace in Hue Citadel, Tu Duc Tomb (Hue), Tam Coc - Bich Dong in Ninh Binh. After the film was released, Tam Coc - Bich Dong tourist area (Ninh Binh) became known to many international tourists, especially French tourists. Currently, French and European tourists account for 80% of visitors to Tam Coc - Bich Dong tourist area, changing the structure of tourists here.

Director of Quang Binh Province Department of Tourism Nguyen Ngoc Quy also said that through movies, especially blockbusters from Hollywood studios, the effectiveness of destination communication is very large, helping to reach out to hundreds of millions of viewers worldwide.

Need clear policies and mechanisms

At the workshop, in addition to affirming the great potential of developing cinema associated with tourism, experts also frankly acknowledged the limitations and shortcomings that have prevented Vietnamese tourism from benefiting much from cinema. Most opinions said that, for a long time, Vietnam has not been really proactive in inviting, calling, supporting or introducing international film crews to Vietnam. In addition, barriers in procedures, taxes, funding, etc. are obstacles that make international film crews rarely choose Vietnam.

Film set of the movie “Kong: Skull Islands” in Ninh Binh. Photo: ST

Proposing solutions to create a favorable legal corridor in calling for cooperation and attracting international filmmakers to Vietnam, Chairman of the Vietnam Tourism Association Cao Tri Dung said that it is necessary to soon have a data set from the national, local and business levels on investment attraction policies. "The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism needs to take the lead to have a focal point and connect relevant units. At the same time, it is necessary to have a plan to promote and introduce Vietnam as a world cinema destination," said Mr. Cao Tri Dung.

According to Nguyen Quy Phuong, Head of the Department of Tourism Promotion Management (Vietnam National Administration of Tourism), Vietnam needs to innovate its promotion work and have special incentives for the film industry to have quality film products and promote the country's tourism well. Chairman of the Vietnam Cinema Promotion and Development Association Ngo Phuong Lan suggested that although the 2022 Cinema Law has many new points, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism as well as the tax authority should have sub-law documents with incentives for filmmakers. This is a big factor in attracting film crews to Vietnam.

In order to promote tourist destinations and attract Hollywood film studios to Vietnam, from September 21 to 28, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will organize the Vietnam Tourism - Cinema Promotion Program in the United States with the theme "Vietnam - New Destination of World Cinema".

Director of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism Nguyen Trung Khanh affirmed that this promotion program will have the participation of famous Hollywood directors and filmmakers. This is a promotion and advertising program with a highlight in 2024, hoping to open a new chapter for the development of film tourism in Vietnam in the coming time.

Source: https://baodienbienphu.com.vn/tin-tuc/du-lich/218011/hut-khach-du-lich-tu-dien-anh