VietNam
In the early 90s and 20th century, Hội An city launched the construction of the first cultural town in the country. In recent years, in the process of construction and development, Hội An city has constantly followed the orientation of developing an ecological, cultural, and tourism city. When the Government issued a strategy to develop Vietnam's cultural industries, Hội An caught up with the implementation and continued to take culture as the driving force for socio-economic development. And over the years, Hội An city has focused on investing in developing the cultural industry and this is also the premise to build "Hội An - Creative City" in the future.
1. Efforts to preserve traditional cultural identity combined with contemporary trends
Being aware of the thickness and depth of the inherent historical and cultural values of the land that was once the international commercial port of Cochinchina and is now a World Cultural Heritage Site of Humanity; during the journey of construction and development, Hội An city has preserved and promoted traditional art forms, creating typical cultural tourism products, marking the destination's own identity. The locality has established and maintained many cultural tourism products based on culture, history, and community life, typically periodical traditional art performances, water puppet shows, Bài Chòi singing, hò khoan singing, folk songs, bả trạo singing, tuồng singing,...
Along with traditional cultural products and the orientation of developing the cultural industry according to the general policy of the Government, over the years, Hội An has restored traditional festivals as well as contemporary artistic and cultural events that are held annually, such as the Lunar New Year Festival, Lantern Festival, Nguyên Tiêu Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, Hội An traditional occupations' beauty, Hội An - Japan Cultural Exchange, Korean Cultural Days in Hội An,... In addition, the province's cultural and sports events such as Quảng Nam Heritage Festival, International Choir Competition and Festival; or national and international events like competitions Miss Vietnam, Miss Universe, Miss Earth, APEC conference, etc. were also hosted by Hội An in accordance with the orientation of developing the local cultural industry to diversify, expand, exchange and integrate regional and multinational cultures.
Especially, with the unique characteristics of the land and people of Hội An in recent years, the city has always welcomed artists and artisans from all over the country to create culture. And this place has gradually formed many models, and cultural creative spaces which started to become famous, such as Hoi An Lune Center for the Performing Arts with plays A O show, Tedar, Morning Dew; Hoi An Impression Theme Park with its famous "Hoi An Memories Show".
In the space outside the ancient town, Hội An also promotes the combined strengths of ecological landscapes, historical and cultural relics and especially the daily habits, community activities of local residents to create Hội An cultural tourism products. Traditional occupation villages, landscape spaces of revolutionary relics and historical relics are exploited for their values, in order to improve the spiritual and cultural life of residents and visitors as well as preserve the unique cultural identity of the land and people of Hội An.
2. Achieved efficiency over the years
Over the years, the results of activities in the fields of culture - art, tourism service in Hội An have actively contributed to the cause of preserving and promoting the culture imbued with national identity. This is also the driving force to contribute to developing the spearhead of local tourism and economy. The preservation and promotion of traditional culture, in conjunction with contemporary artistic and cultural trends have brought socio-economic effects as well as contributed to educating and raising the awareness of the young generation about culture, history, tradition. Furthermore, cultural preservation has actively contributed to creating more jobs and income for the community. This is a very special thing in Hội An city, showing that, once the traditional culture is effectively promoted, it will offer great economic value. Culture also becomes an income-generating product for locals and businesses, and it helps to promote and introduce Hội An's image to friends and visitors. International organizations and many countries have invited Hội An to exchange, cooperate, perform cultural and artistic activities, including Japan, Hong Kong, China, Thailand, Korea, Italy, Hungary and Germany. In addition, the art products of the Center for Culture, Sports, Radio and Television are also often selected by the province and city to perform at roadshows promoting Quảng Nam tourism in domestic and international locations. Through these trips, the image of Hội An culture and tourism has the opportunity to be widely promoted to the international public, especially the potential tourist markets of Hội An like Korea, Japan, Germany and other European countries.
The results and reputation gained through organizing festivals and cultu ral events have contributed to affirming that Hội An is a capable and experienced place for organizing traditional and contemporary cultural events. The Hong Kong-based online travel magazine Smart Travel Asia announced the voting results for Asia's top travel options, which voted Hội An among the top 5 cities to organize the best festival, Conde Nast Traveler magazine of the United States voted Hội An as one of the 10 most attractive tourist cities in Asia, the United Kingdom-based Wanderlust magazine awarded the gold award to Hội An - the world's favorite city, and many other prestigious awards and ratings... All the above efforts have also contributed to the increase in the number of tourists visiting the world cultural heritage site - Hội An annually by 20% on average. This leads to increased spending and income for both tourism businesses and locals.
