Vietnamese tourists prefer visiting foreign museums to domestic museums.

When traveling abroad, many Vietnamese tourists are interested in museums but are not interested in domestic exhibitions because the experience is still dry.

Hoai An, a tourist from Hanoi , visited the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) in Bangkok in 2023 and was impressed with the way the exhibits were displayed inside. She traveled nearly 15 km from the center of Bangkok, bought a ticket for 180 baht (approximately 140,000 VND) to experience what she had seen on social media.

An said the museum space was spacious, and the predominantly white color scheme made the paintings on the walls stand out. The paintings covered a variety of themes, from religion to natural landscapes. There were many photo-worthy spots, so An noticed that visitors were just focused on taking pictures, like she was.

"I don't understand the meaning of each painting, but taking pictures here is beautiful so it's worth the effort to go," she said.

VNA Travel Hanoi has observed that Vietnamese tourists have a particular fondness for unique, beautiful, and famous museums abroad. The Cairo Museum in Egypt is a prime example – home to over 12,000 artifacts, a collection unearthed from the tomb of King Tutankhamun, the central figure in numerous films about the mummy's curse.

Vietnamese tourists visiting museums in London, England in 2022. Photo: Kim Huong

Some other museums that are also on the "must-see" list of Vietnamese tourists include the Louvre in France, the BMW Museum in Germany, or the Vatican Museum in the Vatican, according to Vietravel . Marketing Director Nguyen Nguyet Van Khanh said the trend of traveling and visiting museums has begun to gain Vietnamese attention thanks to social media, and was previously almost unpopular.

Ms. Tran Thi Bao Thu, Director of Marketing and Communications at Vietlux Travel Company, said that foreign museums are attractive thanks to good promotion, creating a desire to visit. Besides the elements of fine arts, culture, history, and art, foreign museums are enlivened in their approach through visual effects, sound, light and virtual reality technology, bringing an interesting experience.

However, representatives from many travel companies say that museums are not a major focus for Vietnamese tourists in their itineraries. Overseas tours usually only include one or two museums, with the rest being experiences related to local nature and culture.

According to actual observations, Deputy Director Pham Anh Vu of Viet Travel Company found that tourists mostly only spend a short time taking photos when visiting foreign museums, few actually read the accompanying information or participate in interactive activities. He assessed the museum as just an additional part instead of a deciding factor in choosing a tour.

However, compared to foreign museums, Vietnamese visitors' interest in domestic museums is much lower.

"Museum tourism is not attractive enough to Vietnamese people due to lack of practical connection, small experiential space, and failure to meet tourists' tastes," Mr. Vu commented.

Dr. Trinh Le Anh, Head of the Department of Event Management, Faculty of Tourism, University of Social Sciences and Humanities - Vietnam National University, Hanoi, said that domestic museums may encounter some problems such as outdated facilities, lack of lively spaces and failure to exploit the experiential elements that young people love.

According to Dr. Le Anh, the demand for visiting museums among Vietnamese people, especially young people, is showing signs of increasing, but the purpose and form of visiting are somewhat different. Many people come to museums to take advantage of the space to take photos and share on social networks, in addition to learning about historical or cultural information.

"The real need for historical and cultural knowledge is still limited," the doctor said, emphasizing that if only taking photos is done, the purpose of the museum as a place to preserve cultural values is not truly promoted.

Visitors to the Vietnam Military History Museum on November 10. Photo: Gia Chinh

On November 10, the Vietnam Military History Museum welcomed a record number of 40,000 visitors, almost equal to the busiest day at the Louvre Museum. Explaining this phenomenon, many travel agencies said that the free entrance fee and large scale attracted visitors. Although the "virtual life, showing off on social networks" mentality was also part of the reason, travel agencies still considered this a positive signal, possibly including the museum in future tour schedules.

Dr. Le Anh suggested that domestic museums should change from a dry model of preserving artifacts to a creative and inspiring space. Solutions include investing in technology such as VR and interactive screens; organizing events and workshops on topics; creating attractive photo spaces to promote via social networks and cooperating with schools to raise cultural awareness.

"If we modernize and improve the experience, domestic museums will increasingly attract more Vietnamese people," said Mr. Le Anh.

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