Focus resources to cultural industry development (CNVH) in the area , Quang Ninh currently focuses on building a pilot project for a cultural and creative industrial zone and complex in Ha Long City . At the discussion on this content held in early February, experts and representatives of relevant units expressed their agreement and contributed many useful ideas to serve the project development as well as the implementation process later...

Ha Long City is the earliest developed tourist center as well as the largest tourism development scale in the province today. According to local information, in 2024, Ha Long welcomed 10.6 million tourists, of which international visitors reached 2.7 million, total revenue from tourism activities reached 23,320 billion VND. All indicators have increased well compared to the same period. This year, the city strives to welcome 11.5 million visitors, of which international visitors are 3 million; total revenue from tourism activities reaches 26,500 billion VND.

With full potential and advantages in terms of cultural, historical and natural values, in recent years, Ha Long has been invested in synchronous and modern infrastructure connecting with localities and the whole country, as well as having a general plan until 2040 approved by the Prime Minister. The city has also planned to arrange land for cultural development in the area at 3 locations with a total area of ​​over 107.6 hectares. This is the basis for the locality to attract investment as well as select suitable industrial and cultural sectors and fields for development.

Although many localities in the country have developed a number of cultural industries, Quang Ninh is the first locality to establish a project to build a creative cultural industry zone and complex, demonstrating the province's methodical approach. Appreciating this, Dr. Nguyen Khanh Ngoc, Hanoi University of Culture, shared his concern about the issue of human resources when developing cultural industries in Ha Long.

Dr. Nguyen Khanh Ngoc analyzed: The local human resources of Quang Ninh can meet and promote this human resource of actors and artists, there needs to be a training center to be able to meet the special requirements of directors and choreographers, such as to serve a live show for example. So in the creative cultural industrial zone in Ha Long, there needs to be a training center, not only for actors but also for technicians who are very important in implementing new technologies for shows, so that when the experts leave, they will take over.

Furthermore, the reality is that human resources will also change frequently, so there needs to be a continuous supply of human resources to maintain this activity, so it is necessary to have a training center to stabilize the operating human resources. In this center, I hope to have activities to encourage and support startups in the cultural field, because startups in this field are inherently more difficult than other fields. With encouragement, artists and creators will have resources to focus on creating more and better ideas.

Considering that it is necessary to quantify the contribution of cultural tourism to the province's GRDP, the contribution of Ha Long City's cultural tourism to the province's GRDP, then the project development is feasible, Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Thi Thu Phuong also emphasized the need to determine the target that cultural tourism will contribute to the province's GRDP. She suggested that from the actual development of cultural tourism industries in some localities in the country and abroad that the provincial delegations have visited, it is necessary to draw appropriate experiences to apply to Ha Long, Quang Ninh...

In addition, many opinions at the above conference have made contributions not only to ensure the theoretical profile for the project development but also expressed the willingness of individuals and units to cooperate, laying the first bricks for the future development of Quang Ninh's cultural industry, such as specific policy mechanisms, space, location, communication work, etc.

Going into the cultural and industrial sectors that the province values, many opinions have good suggestions from practical experiences. In particular, talking about organizing live shows to attract viewers and stay in Ha Long longer, Dr. Nguyen Khanh Ngoc emphasized: The materials to build live shows need to pay attention to exploiting local cultural heritage resources. Besides big shows, there should be mini shows to diversify activities and attract more audiences. I have participated in Quang Ninh's festivals, there are many artistic talents. The province also has many famous artists in the country, so should we invite them to create artistic products for Quang Ninh? I think it is necessary to promote the province's artistic human resources to create products with the right cultural imprint, the right Quang Ninh quality.

Also discussing this issue, a representative from Vietnam Television commented: Quang Ninh needs to choose something that suits its strengths, for example, for live shows, the number of local artists is very important, to ensure that they can stick with the show for a long time; outdoor shows also have to be suitable for the weather. If investing in a theater to perform indoor shows, it can be performed in any weather, which will be very effective. The province can also connect with artists from Quang Ninh such as Den Vau, Ho Quynh Huong, Huy Tuan, Ngoc Anh, Quang Tho... because they love Quang Ninh very much. The choice needs to be in the direction of different, new things, for example, the shows on cruise ships in Ha Long are very good, other places cannot have them...

In addition, Master Architect Nguyen Duc Tuan believes that it is necessary to upgrade exhibition halls to international standards, to have plans for development stages, to plan resources, technical infrastructure, relationships, and to determine investment contents, then a specific model can be developed. Many projects have real needs, businesses want to invest, and clearly see the investment efficiency, but because there is no plan, it is difficult and takes a lot of time...

Specializing in traditional costumes, talking about this issue, Mr. Nguyen Duc Loc, Director of Y Van Hien Production and Trading Company Limited, proposed: We hope that when building a cultural and creative complex in Ha Long, the province will pay more attention to the issue of registering copyrights, creations, and protection for all units and individuals when participating here, not just in the fashion field. The issue of traditional costumes has only been of interest in recent years, and is now very hot. Quang Ninh has great potential in all cultural materials, enough to develop traditional costumes. Traditional costumes show a strong national cultural identity and mark. When developing areas and complexes, knowing how to exploit them in life, fashion shows, festivals, traditional film studios, etc. is a highlight that leaves an impression and attracts domestic and foreign tourists to Ha Long, Quang Ninh.

With extensive experience in media and film activities, Ms. Ngo Thi Bich Hanh, CEO of Binh Hanh Dan Company Limited, commented: Not only are the names familiar, but young content producers of Quang Ninh are now also very strong on social networking platforms. Regarding film production, Quang Ninh is a place that many people want to come to film because it is very beautiful. However, the content filmed here is also very special because the nature is special, with more mystical and ancient elements than modern ones. And now it is not just about calling for film crews to come, but we have enough potential, we proactively find stories about Quang Ninh, the legends, the history of this land, the people of Quang Ninh to tell the whole world...

Ms. Hanh also believes that between the two types of film studios, one is used for filming and the other is a tourist film studio - like Disney Land, Quang Ninh should promote more tourist film studios, because the 4-season weather characteristics make it difficult to have a competitive advantage over real film studios.

She analyzed: Quang Ninh has valuable historical documents about the Tran Dynasty, Bach Dang, Van Don, Yen Tu... For example, Bach Dang in history is not only the pride of the Vietnamese people, everyone knows, but in the history of battles, this battle is also included in military schools around the world. So from the intellectual property left by our ancestors, that potential can be exploited in combination from a movie to a film set, with real battles to shows in the theater, to souvenirs such as cups, bowls, costumes of that time...

Sharing experiences in developing cultural creative spaces of complexes and creative industrial parks in Ha Long City, Architect Le Quang Minh emphasized the need to take advantage of available spaces, old quarters, vacant lots, abandoned houses, factories that need to be redeveloped... to minimize the time for procedures. This is also consistent with the rapidly changing and outdated characteristics of creative industrial products. And Ha Long should be considered a center, needing to be linked with areas across the province to develop...

The above opinions are valuable sources of information contributing to the draft Pilot Project on building a cultural and creative industrial zone and complex in Ha Long City, which the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism is implementing, with the determination to strive to submit for approval this year and gradually realize from 2026.

Ngoc Mai