When cinema attracts tourists

At the Cannes International Film Festival – one of the world's most prestigious and renowned film festivals – recently held in France, the Vietnamese delegation made a strong impression with many unique activities promoting cinema, tourism, and culture. This can be considered a "golden" opportunity not only for cinema but also for tourism, as experiential tourism and tourism linked to film are becoming increasingly popular...

Tourism benefits from movies.

During the "Vietnamese Film Night," several new Vietnamese films were showcased. Along with them, potential filming locations and attractive tourist destinations were highlighted… with the main message to directors, producers, and tourism representatives being: "Vietnam welcomes and is ready to cooperate with international filmmakers." This can be considered another very open opportunity to promote tourism, destinations, and scenic spots in Vietnam.

Director Bui Thac Chuyen, actress Ho Thu Anh, and Kaity Nguyen promote Vietnamese cinema at Cannes.

Vietnam's tourism sector experienced a significant surge in the first four months of 2025. The number of international visitors to Vietnam in the first quarter reached a record high, exceeding 6 million. One of the key factors contributing to this trend is cinema. Films shot at famous tourist destinations have sparked curiosity, inspired interest, and fueled the desire for exploration among many tourists.

Ninh Binh is a prime example. Thanks to its groundbreaking and creative approaches to tourism promotion through film, Ninh Binh has been chosen by many domestic and international filmmakers as a setting for blockbuster movies such as "Kong: Skull Island," "The Aspiration of Thang Long," "Tam Cam: The Untold Story," "Go Home, My Son," "Trang Ti," "The Taste of Family Love," and "Let's Have Fun, Brothers and Sisters"... It can be said that Ninh Binh is becoming a bright spot on the international tourism map.

According to information from the Hue City Department of Tourism, after each successful film, such as "Blue Eyes," "Em and Trinh," "Linh Mieu - The Ghost Possessing a Corpse," etc., the number of visitors to the locations featured in the films usually increases significantly, contributing to introducing and promoting the unique cultural beauty of the ancient capital, bringing the image of Hue closer to everyone, especially young people and international tourists.

One of the box office hits of 2024 was "The Godfather" starring Tran Thanh. However, another positive effect of this film is that it revived the atmosphere of old Saigon with romantic, nostalgic imagery, making people want to pack their bags and go there to take photos and experience the atmosphere as in the film.

At the "Vietnamese Film Night" event, Mr. Nguyen Trung Khanh, Director of the Vietnam National Tourism Administration, affirmed that Vietnam is a country rich in cultural traditions, possessing majestic natural landscapes, diverse ecosystems, and especially kind and open-minded people. These values ​​are precious materials for cinema - an art form with a special power of dissemination and connection.

Tourism and culture create a synergistic effect.

Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Thi Thu Phuong - Director of the Institute of Culture, Arts, Sports and Tourism, stated that global experience shows that places that develop interdisciplinary approaches in culture create an irresistible attraction for tourism development.

“Tourism and culture create a synergistic force. Tourism benefits from the value created by the cultural industry, such as cuisine, film, design, and music... In the context of the digital technology and multimedia boom, which activates consumer demand in cultural industry centers, the issue of competition among tourist destinations has become increasingly intense, requiring localities that want to develop tourism to tell cultural stories through their tourism products,” Ms. Phuong emphasized.

Citing Ninh Binh's success story, Ms. Phuong stated that the province has rich potential and advantages for developing cultural industries and tourism, largely based on its cultural heritage. For tourism to thrive, attractive cultural products are essential. Conversely, for the cultural industry to develop, it needs to be linked to tourist destinations.

According to the World Economic Forum's rankings, Vietnam's natural resources rank 26th and its cultural resources rank 28th in the world. This is a very good resource for developing tourism combined with film. The success of films like "Kong: Skull Island" shows that Vietnam has the potential to become a filming location for Hollywood blockbusters.

According to Ms. Park Eun Jung, Chief Representative of the Korea Tourism Organization in Vietnam, a survey revealed that when choosing South Korea as a travel destination, 8.7% of foreign tourists indicated they considered locations related to the Korean Wave, including K-pop, concerts by artists, or filming locations of Korean dramas and television programs.

Ms. Park Eun Jung cited the city of Suwon, associated with the drama "Lovely Runner," Jumunjin Beach in the drama "Goblin," and the filming locations of "Mr. Sunshine," all of which have attracted many tourists to take photos and check in.

Furthermore, South Korea also engages in collaborative activities with other countries, inviting foreign film crews to film in South Korea and then screening the films in those countries. These approaches have yielded incredibly impressive results.

According to Dr. Ngo Phuong Lan, President of the Vietnam Film Development Promotion Association (VFDA), Vietnam is entering a promising phase for its film industry, becoming an attractive and competitive destination in Asia for filmmaking. Cannes is not only an opportunity to showcase Vietnam's cinematic capabilities, but also opens up new avenues for exploiting the immense potential of tourism through cinema.

However, according to some experts, we should not commercialize cinema by trying to incorporate tourism messages into films, because a film must first have value to have a widespread impact and, from there, promote the locality and destination.

Mr. Nguyen Chau A, General Director of Oxalis Adventure Company, stated that tourism trends are changing significantly, with 70% of tourists traveling independently, not through travel agencies. This highlights the importance of promoting the destination's brand to individual travelers. Numerous studies confirm that culture, music, films, etc., play a major role in promoting destinations to international tourists.

According to daidoanket.vn

Source: https://baolaocai.vn/khi-dien-anh-hut-khach-du-lich-post402197.html