The “golden examples”
In 2024, continuing the series of events considered successful and in the right direction, the program "Tourism, cinema, sports - Proud of Vietnamese identity" once again stirred up the festival atmosphere in Quy Nhon, Binh Dinh in the first days of September.
Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Ta Quang Dong said: “The combination of the film industry and the smokeless industry plays an important role in the process of building culture and developing the economy. The cultural industry development strategy sets a target of contributing 7% of GDP by 2030, of which cinema accounts for about 250 million USD (Vietnamese films 125 million USD); cultural tourism accounts for 15 - 20% of revenue from tourists”.
At the conference “Tourism, cinema, sports: Building the future - long journey together” held in Binh Dinh, many perfect marriages between film and tourism were cited as examples. The film “Braveheart” (1995) after 1 year of showing helped the number of visitors to Wallace Monument, Scotland, the place chosen as the setting, increase by 300%. The Crown Hotel, Amersham, UK, was fully booked for at least 3 years after “Four Weddings, a Funeral” (1994). With Harry Potter, visitors to the locations where the film passed through increased by 50% or more.
In Vietnam, there are “Pao's Story”, “Indochina”, “I See Yellow Flowers on the Green Grass”, “Kong - Skull Island”… This reality makes many localities eager to add their names to the list of perfect relationships.
Vice Chairman of Binh Dinh Provincial People's Committee Lam Hai Giang passionately invited: "Many scenes are waiting for film crews to explore and create attractive cinematic works about the land rich in cultural and historical traditions with beautiful natural landscapes, martial, friendly and hospitable people".
At the end of the event, Binh Dinh signed a memorandum of cooperation on 4 film projects with Bao Phuc Media, Minh Dofilm, HK film, Sidus And Tue Entertainment Joint Stock Company .
The first step
Continuing with the case of Binh Dinh. From natural resources to cultural and historical heritage, this is an ideal land to inspire creativity. In the past, there were some films that “borrowed” the cultural context of Champa, the capital of Do Ban, the Imperial Citadel, the rise and fall of the Tay Son dynasty as a reference, but, as Mr. Giang admitted: “Binh Dinh does not have many marks”.
The artistic setting in cinema is not something that can be prepared in a “quickie”. The blockbuster “Lord of the Rings” brought New Zealand 6 billion USD in tourism revenue from 1999 to 2004. But to become a successful lesson, director Peter Jackson and the producers had to invest 500 million USD to renovate a part of the 500ha farm into the famous Hobbiton film set. In “Kong - Skull Island”, the investment in filming scenes in Quang Ninh, Ninh Binh, Quang Binh was also elaborate and costly.
Chairman of the Vietnam Cinema Association Do Lenh Hung Tu emphasized the role of the quality of the script, talent, emotion, and understanding of the artist. Charlie Nguyen was more blunt: “The meaning of the story and the emotions of the actors will touch the audience, not just the scenes. The audience's touch is always emotion. AI development and technology can replace the context, but not emotions.”
Mr. Dao My, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Phu Yen province, where tourism has been a huge success thanks to "I see yellow flowers on green grass", and where a set of indicators to attract film crews has been issued, proposed to use the budget for promotion and distribution activities.
The list of tasks that need to be explored is still messy, as Deputy Minister Ta Quang Dong summarized: “It is necessary to continue to develop specific regulations to quantify policies, such as tax incentives, low-interest loans; completely abolish sub-licenses; support filming locations and accommodation for film crews…”.
