In the first three months of the year, Vietnam welcomed more than 6 million international visitors, reaching an all-time high on a quarterly basis. In 2024, there will be 17.6 million international visitors to Vietnam, surpassing Singapore with 16.5 million. According to Dr. Bui Quoc Liem, lecturer in Professional Communication at RMIT University, Vietnam's tourism is facing an important turning point. The tourism industry should focus its strategy to attract new visitors on popular cultural products.
"In the context of global tourism competition, Vietnam needs to effectively exploit cinema and music as soft power tools," said Mr. Liem, explaining that soft power is the ability to influence through attraction and persuasion rather than coercion, playing a key role in shaping a country's global appeal.
To further amplify its appeal and build deeper connections with global visitors, Vietnamese tourism should look to the music and film industries as new key cultural exports.
In the past 2-3 years, many Vietnamese music and film products have created a ripple effect across borders. The song "See Tinh" in the album LINK (2023) by Hoang Thuy Linh became famous globally through million-view dance cover videos on TikTok. Yena, a former member of the Korean girl group IZ*ONE, once danced to "See Tinh" on a basket boat during a trip to Hoi An. Many Korean and Chinese tourists to Vietnam also know the dance and melody of this song.
Singer Hoa Minzy's MV "Bac Bling" reached 196 million views after 3 months of release. This MV made a strong impression on the international market, entering the top 5 and top 10 of music charts in countries such as Australia, Japan, Singapore and South Korea. Nikkei magazine, Japan commented that the MV was successful in spreading the cultural beauty and vitality of Bac Ninh land. On his personal TikTok on March 26, Singaporean Prime Minister Laurence Wong posted a short video about his visit to Vietnam, created on the background of Bac Bling remix, attracting more than 300,000 likes.
After the success of the MV with hundreds of millions of views, Bac Ninh has launched free tours every Saturday and Sunday, including destinations appearing in "Bac Bling". The Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Bac Ninh province said that the free tours are fully booked, with about 400-500 people signing up each week. The number of visitors outside the free program has also increased.
RMIT University tourism expert said Vietnam is also on the way to becoming an attractive destination for international music festivals. The music festival held at My Dinh Stadium in June with the participation of famous artists such as G-Dragon and CL is causing a stir on social networks. Ho Chi Minh City is the destination for the world tour of Korean music group Baby Monster - the group under the same management company as Blackpink. Previously, many international superstars from the US and UK such as Charlie Puth, Imagine Dragons, Maroon 5 have come to Vietnam to perform at music events in famous tourist destinations such as Nha Trang and Phu Quoc.
To position Vietnam as a vibrant music tourism hub, authorities should actively support the organization and promotion of diverse music events, from contemporary pop shows to traditional music performances. Developing a calendar of music events across the country and promoting them internationally could attract a new segment of tourists – music lovers who are eager to experience Vietnam’s dynamic music scene first-hand. Investing in infrastructure to support large-scale events and simplifying the visa process for international visitors would further enhance this appeal.
According to Mr. Liem, tourism management agencies need to proactively deploy digital marketing campaigns, positioning film shoots and music events as attractive destinations. Strategies could include producing behind-the-scenes content, promoting V-pop artists and festivals through targeted advertising, and collaborating with global KOLs to introduce Vietnamese cultural products.
Another channel to showcase Vietnamese culture and landscapes to the world is through film. The phenomenon of film tourism has been firmly established in many other countries, with countless tourists drawn to real-life locations portrayed in popular films and television shows. Dr. Bui Quoc Liem believes that Vietnam can learn from South Korea - a global master in leveraging TV dramas and films to attract tourists to filming locations, creating specialized tours and experiences.
The most recent example is the movie "When Life Gives You Tangerines" released in March, attracting the attention of Asian audiences. Representatives of Jeju's tourism industry said that the new movie contributed to the revival of local tourism and predicted that the number of international visitors would increase after 3 consecutive years of decline (2022-2024). Taking advantage of the ripple effect, the Jeju Tourism Promotion Organization (JTO) promoted itineraries to visit the famous island, experiencing the destinations featured in the movie.
“Vietnam needs closer cooperation between the film and tourism industries,” Liem said. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism can help find filming locations, offer and promote incentives for filming in Vietnam, and develop tourism packages that highlight locations featured in films. Promoting Vietnamese films with international appeal at global film festivals and through streaming platforms serves as a powerful form of tourism promotion.
According to tourism expert Nguyen Chau A, General Director of Oxalis Adventure, to exploit films for tourism, there needs to be a national sponsorship program or businesses supporting film projects associated with destination promotion. Local authorities or tourism funds can sponsor activities such as short videos, film launch events integrated with tourism introductions.
When sponsored, images and information from the film can be used to create tourism products. Exploiting the film set depends on copyright and funding, but activities surrounding the film can be used. It is important that the tourism industry proactively builds products and promotional content in parallel with the film. Lessons from the film "Kong: Skull Island" (2017) show that if the tourism industry does not take advantage of it for promotion, tourists will not find information to travel no matter how popular the film is.
"Movies only create awareness, attracting tourists is the responsibility of the tourism industry, not the film crew," said Mr. A.
Source: https://baolaocai.vn/suc-manh-mem-de-du-lich-viet-hut-khach-quoc-te-post402086.html
![[Photo] Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh chairs conference to promote public investment growth momentum](https://vphoto.vietnam.vn/thumb/1200x675/vietnam/resource/IMAGE/2025/5/20/7d1fac1aef9d4002a09ee8fa7e0fc5c5)
Comment (0)