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| Delegates attending the conference |
Associate Professor Dr. Bui Hoai Son, National Assembly Deputy and Standing Member of the National Assembly’s Committee on Culture and Society, made this assertion at the International Conference on Cultural Industries - A Platform for Sustainable Tourism Development.
The conference was jointly organized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the People’s Committee of Hue City on the afternoon of December 19 at Duyet Thi Duong Theatre - Hue Imperial Citadel. Attending the event were Member of the Party Central Committee and Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Van Hung; Standing Member of the City Party Committee and Standing Vice Chairman of the People’s Committee of Hue City Nguyen Thanh Binh; along with representatives of central ministries and agencies, experts, researchers, businesses, artists, and domestic and international partners.
A strategy suitable for global trends
Emphasizing breakthrough opportunities for Viet Nam’s cultural industries, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Bui Hoai Son stated that while traditional development models rely primarily on resources, capital, and labor, modern development models must place intelligence, creativity, identity, technology, and intellectual property at their core.
Cultural industries are precisely the field that brings together all of these elements: generating economic value, promoting the national image, improving the quality of urban life, fostering innovation, and nurturing national soft power.
He pointed out that the Strategy for the Development of Viet Nam’s Cultural Industries to 2030, with a vision to 2045, issued under Decision No. 2486/QD-TTg dated November 14, 2025 (Strategy 2486), marks a crucial institutional milestone. For the first time, Viet Nam has clearly established a long-term vision to 2045, expanded the list to 11 core cultural industry sectors, set specific growth targets, and emphasized the need to build a cultural industry ecosystem associated with innovation, digital technology, intellectual property, public–private partnerships, content copyright, and the national brand. This document serves as a foundation for further improving policies, laws, financial mechanisms, and organizational models, creating conditions for creative enterprises, artists, startups, research institutes, universities, and localities to participate more deeply in the cultural value chain.
A notable new point of Strategy 2486 is the prioritization of six sectors with the potential to lead the growth model: cinema; performing arts; software, games, and digital content; advertising and creative communications; design, fashion, and handicrafts; and cultural tourism.
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| Assoc. Prof. Dr. Bui Hoai Son, National Assembly Deputy and Standing Member of the National Assembly’s Committee on Culture and Society, speaking at the conference |
According to Dr. Son, prioritizing these six cultural industry sectors is a strategic move fully aligned with global trends. Each sector possesses its own advantages, a large domestic market, export potential, strong cultural spillover effects, and the capacity to create inter-sectoral value chains. If implemented in the right direction, the six priority sectors could generate millions of creative jobs and billions of U.S. dollars in direct and indirect revenue, while improving happiness indices, enhancing the vitality of urban spaces, attracting investment, expanding the night-time economy, increasing tourism competitiveness, positioning regional brands, and bringing Vietnamese intellectual property to the world.
Turning heritage into a creative resource
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Thi Thu Phuong, Director of Viet Nam Institute of Culture, Arts, Sports and Tourism, noted that in many Asian countries, cultural industries are used as strategic tools to elevate destination branding. Citing the example of the Republic of Korea, she described it as a typical case of close integration among the entertainment industry, music, cinema, design, and tourism. Japan, meanwhile, has implemented models combining traditional crafts, contemporary art, design, and technology in small and medium-sized cities. These creative experiences help tourism spread while enhancing experiential value and national image.
From these experiences, Dr. Phuong said several important implications can be drawn for Viet Nam. Specifically, the development of cultural industries linked to tourism should be regarded as a long-term strategy rather than short-term projects or movements; creative destinations must be built on the foundation of local identity and authentic community participation, avoiding commercialization. In particular, the State’s role in shaping the framework and the innovative capacity of creative enterprises are decisive conditions for cultural industries to truly become a driving force in enhancing tourism competitiveness.
Meanwhile, according to Mr. Phan Thanh Hai - Director of the Department of Culture and Sports of Hue City, never before has culture been so clearly recognized as it is today, as an economic soft resource and a means of international integration.
Mr. Hai cited Asian countries with cultural similarities to Viet Nam, such as the Republic of Korea, Japan, and China, all of which demonstrate that if properly invested, cultural industries can contribute 5 - 12% of GDP, becoming an export driver and increasing international influence. Viet Nam, he said, is standing before a golden opportunity to turn culture into a new engine for growth in its new development phase.
These opportunities, according to Mr. Hai, stem from Viet Nam’s favorable foundations, including an increasingly complete national policy framework, strong digital transformation, a rapidly growing startup and innovation ecosystem, a domestic market of over 100 million people, and a rich and diverse cultural identity.
“If we know how to seize the opportunity, renew institutions, invest in technology, nurture talent, and create an open and enabling creative environment, I believe culture will become a new development driver, cultural industries will become a spearhead economic sector, and Viet Nam will rise to a new level on the global creative map,” Mr. Hai hoped.
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| Standing Vice Chairman of the People’s Committee of Hue City Nguyen Thanh Binh speaking at the conference |
At the conference, Standing Member of the City Party Committee and Standing Vice Chairman of the People’s Committee of Hue City Nguyen Thanh Binh provided information on programs and projects aimed at developing cultural industries in Hue. He emphasized the roles of Hue as the “Capital of Ao Dai,” the “Capital of Cuisine,” and a convergence of traditional crafts. At the same time, the locality is focusing on developing distinctive creative art products through the organization of large-scale artistic programs. Through these efforts, Hue is gradually forming cultural products that are unique, modern, and highly diffusive, contributing to the expansion of experiential spaces and the extension of visitors’ length of stay.
In addition, Hue is actively preparing a nomination dossier for “Hue - Creative City of Gastronomy” to join UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network; developing a Project on Cultural Industry Development for the 2026–2030 period; and formulating a Project on organizing national - and international-scale cultural and sports events, expected to be issued in early 2026.
Through this conference, Hue has received many valuable opinions, international experiences, and possible proposals to refine policies further, promote linkages, and effectively leverage the relationship between cultural industries and tourism, thereby enhancing Hue’s position as a destination on the regional and global tourism map.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism stated that in the coming period, they will continue to improve mechanisms and policies, creating a transparent and enabling environment for businesses and creative forces to realize their potential. In addition, it will promote digitalization and establish a national database on cultural industries and tourism; develop creative value chains linking cinema, music, applied arts, handicrafts, and creative design with tourism; form creative hubs, studios, and entertainment zones, especially in localities with strong potential; coordinate with tourism enterprises to develop experiential economy models and build tours associated with culture, heritage, and traditional craft villages. In particular, the Ministry will attract international cooperation, enhance high-quality human resource training, absorb knowledge from countries with developed cultural industries, and vigorously promote Vietnam’s image, positioning the country as a leading regional destination for culture, creativity, and tourism.
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