HÀ NỘI — Movie buffs, the culture department and professionals have been looking at ways to boost the Vietnamese film industry and bring film crews into the country.

They gathered for a seminar entitled 'Việt Nam - New Destination of World Cinema,' organised by Nhân Dân (People) Newspaper in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Văn Hóa (Culture) Newspaper.

Lê Quốc Minh, member of the Party Central Committee, deputy head of the Party Central Committee’s Commission of Popularisation and Education, editor-in-chief of Nhân Dân newspaper and chairman of Việt Nam Journalists Association, said: "The seminar aims to clarify the potential of cooperation in developing tourism and cinema in Việt Nam, the advantages and difficulties, as well as propose solutions to promote the strengths and potential of the cultural traditions, distinctive heritage and beautiful natural landscapes of our country."

In addition to representatives from Nhân Dân Newspaper, Văn Hóa Newspaper and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MoCST), the seminar also welcomed local authorities and representatives from film and travel association.

Chairman of the Việt Nam National Authority of Tourism Nguyễn Trùng Khánh, said that many countries have attracted tourists worldwide thanks to being part of a blockbuster film.

Since 2001, after the series films Lord of the Rings movies were released, the number of international visitors to New Zealand increased by 50 per cent. In the UK, during the period 2011-2014, Harry Potter series increased foreign tourists visiting film sets in this country by 230 per cent. 

"The success of the film Kong: Skull Island with spectacular scenes filmed in Hạ Long, Quảng Bình, Ninh Bình shows that Việt Nam is fully capable of becoming a filming location for Hollywood blockbusters," Khánh said. 

"We not only promote Việt Nam's potential to become a world film studio, but also focus on promoting and attracting international tourists through films in Việt Nam."

Hồ An Phong, Deputy Minister of MoCST said: "Each film investing from 10 million to 30 million USD to film in a locality will develop that area. The investment will fall into businesses, labours and taxes, benefiting the destination's brand in tourism."

The seminar looked at solutions to attract United States investors, filmmakers and tourists to Việt Nam including a new promotion programme happening soon stateside.

From September 21 to 28, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will organise the Việt Nam Tourism - Cinema Promotion Programme in the US with the theme 'Việt Nam - New Destination of World Cinema."

The programme aims to promote tourist destinations, potential filming locations, attract Hollywood film studios - the world's cinema capital - to Việt Nam.

The programme has the active participation and accompaniment of Vietnamese businesses including Vietravel and Oxalis, which have a lot of experience in networking with previous film crews. — VNS