Green tourism has become a preferred trend in many countries around the world. Vietnam has also identified tourism as a key economic sector and a driving force for the development of other industries and sectors. However, achieving this goal requires a range of coordinated and comprehensive solutions.
Cultural industry highlights
According to experts, the cultural industry is the application of technological and information advances, together with business skills, using creativity, cultural capital, and intellectual capital as inputs to produce cultural products and services that meet the needs of the public.
In developed countries, the cultural industry has generated substantial revenue and made significant contributions to GDP. In Hong Kong, 85% of national income is reportedly derived from entertainment, television, and advertising services. In Japan, the cultural industry contributes approximately USD 2 billion annually. In South Korea, music groups and films have been widely promoted and distributed around the world through various media platforms.
In Vietnam, the Party and the State have introduced a number of important policies to promote cultural development. Specifically, Resolution No. 33-NQ/TW, dated June 9, 2014, on building and developing Vietnamese culture and people to meet the requirements of the country’s sustainable development, clearly identified the development of cultural industries alongside the establishment and improvement of the cultural market as a key task.
On September 8, 2016, the Government issued the “Strategy for the Development of Cultural Industries to 2020, with a Vision to 2030,” which promoted the development of 12 sectors, including advertising, architecture, software and entertainment games, handicrafts, cinema, cultural tourism, and others.
National Assembly delegate Nguyen Quang Huan (Binh Duong Provincial National Assembly Delegation) said that the development of cultural industries, including cultural tourism, is becoming a growing trend and an important, sustainable sector that can attract resources, generate employment, and leverage competitive advantages.
According to statistics and assessments from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, by 2018, Vietnam’s 12 cultural industries had generated approximately USD 8 billion in revenue, equivalent to 3.61% of GDP. In 2019, total revenue reached VND 720 trillion, before falling to VND 180 trillion in 2021. In 2022, cultural tourism made an impressive recovery, with estimated revenue reaching VND 495 trillion.
Recognizing the importance of the cultural industries, provinces and cities across Vietnam have introduced policies to prioritize and promote their development. As a result, local cultural industries achieved encouraging results during the 2016–2022 period. In Hanoi, the cultural industries contributed USD 1.49 billion to the city’s gross regional domestic product (GRDP), accounting for 3.7% of the city’s GDP in 2018. In Ho Chi Minh City, the cultural industries accounted for 3.88% of the city’s GDP in 2019. In 2020, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, this contribution declined to 3.54% of the city’s total GDP. In Ninh Binh Province, visitor numbers to the Trang An Landscape Complex have recorded significant growth in recent years, rising from 2,457,798 visitors in 2016 to 3,103,093 visitors in 2019.
Tourism as a Key Sector
Despite the progress achieved, Vietnam’s tourism industry still faces numerous difficulties and challenges. The main reason is that authorities and sectors have yet to fully recognize tourism as a comprehensive, cross-sectoral and inter-regional economic sector characterized by a high degree of social participation and international integration, as well as strong cultural significance. In addition, there is a lack of appropriate national policies to enable tourism to develop as an economic sector operating in accordance with market principles.
Resolution No. 08-NQ/TW is expected to address the existing shortcomings and weaknesses and enable Vietnam’s tourism sector to develop in line with the country’s potential and competitive strengths. The resolution contains several breakthrough points. First, it places tourism at the center of development efforts and calls for the adoption of specific policies tailored to the sector. More importantly, it defines tourism as a comprehensive service-based economic sector characterized by strong inter-sectoral and inter-regional linkages, a high degree of social participation, and profound cultural content. This is an important guiding perspective for the formulation and implementation of development plans. Tourism must be developed in accordance with its nature as an economic sector operating under market principles.
In addition to providing strategic orientations, Resolution No. 08 also helps address specific policy bottlenecks, including the establishment of a Tourism Development Support Fund; investment in key tourism destinations and remote and disadvantaged areas; human resource training and development; tourism planning, promotion, and marketing; the transition from entrance fees to a service-pricing mechanism; as well as policies on electricity prices, land-use taxes, land rents, and entry procedures.
In particular, the Resolution explicitly states: “For urgent issues that need to be addressed immediately to create breakthroughs in tourism development, if there are no legal documents governing such matters or if existing regulations provide otherwise, pilot implementation may be permitted.” Against the backdrop of Vietnam’s current legal system, which remains fragmented and overlapping in some areas, this policy provides a basis for removing obstacles and developing breakthrough policies for the tourism sector.
According to Nguyen Quang Huan, developing tourism—with a particular focus on green tourism—as a key economic sector in line with the spirit of Resolution No. 08-NQ/TW and Resolution No. 82/NQ-CP dated May 18, 2023, requires a fundamental shift in mindset and approach, along with creative and breakthrough measures.
Accordingly, it is necessary to continue improving the institutional framework for cultural industries within Vietnam’s socialist-oriented market economy. This should focus on strengthening policies that promote the development and effective utilization of Vietnam’s cultural resources, policies for training and attracting talent, and public-private partnership policies.
Furthermore, greater attention should be paid to developing master plans and strategies for Vietnam’s tourism sector. This should include capitalizing on the strengths and advantages of scenic destinations, as well as developing infrastructure and tourism facilities. At the same time, the market should be segmented clearly according to different target groups. In addition, resources should be prioritized for the development of several creative industry hubs in Vietnam, with tailored policies for these hubs to attract creative talent in the cultural industries and facilitate more effective management. Furthermore, policy changes are needed to strengthen linkages in tourism development and improve the efficiency of mobilizing and utilizing resources, particularly by promoting public-private partnerships and establishing mechanisms that encourage and facilitate tourism development.
On this issue, Vu Quoc Tri, Secretary General of the Vietnam Tourism Association, also emphasized that developing green tourism requires raising public awareness and improving the capacity to effectively manage tourist numbers at destinations. It is also essential to minimize the negative environmental impacts of tourism businesses and clearly define the roles and responsibilities of relevant stakeholders. The State is responsible for tourism planning and management, supporting stakeholder participation, collecting and managing tourism information, and promoting destinations. Tourism businesses play a key role in developing, promoting, and providing green tourism products to consumers. Meanwhile, every member of the local community should become a “tourism ambassador,” taking responsibility for showcasing the best aspects of the local community so that visitors can experience and appreciate them.
A representative of the Quang Nam Provincial People’s Committee also said that, to further promote and accelerate the development of green tourism, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism should urgently develop and issue an action program for the tourism sector to implement the National Green Growth Strategy for 2021–2030, with a vision to 2050, issued under Decision No. 1658/QD-TTg dated October 1, 2021. Accordingly, priority should be given to tasks aimed at developing tourism in a green and sustainable direction, including the development of a set of national green tourism criteria for each tourism sector; reviewing and providing guidance on amendments to regulations and legal documents related to agricultural, rural, and mountainous tourism; marine sports tourism; adventure tourism; caravan tourism; and corporate restructuring to help accelerate the recovery of the tourism industry in Quang Nam in particular and Vietnam as a whole.
In addition, the Government should introduce preferential mechanisms and incentives to encourage and support investment in green tourism development projects, including policies on land leasing and the use of natural resources for sustainable tourism development.
Source: Thuong hieu & San pham Magazine