The development of cultural industries in Việt Nam is at a pivotal point. While the country is widely seen as having enormous potential, actual results have yet to match expectations. What are the causes, challenges, and solutions for advancing Việt Nam’s cultural industries? Nguyễn Thị Thu Hà, PhD, director of the Centre for the Development of Cultural Industries and Contemporary Arts under the Việt Nam Institute of Culture, Arts, Sports and Tourism (Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism), talks to Hà An about these issues.

Nguyễn Thị Thu Hà, PhD, director of the Centre for the Development of Cultural Industries and Contemporary Arts under the Việt Nam Institute of Culture, Arts, Sports and Tourism. VNA/VNS Photos

Inner Sanctum: Việt Nam has strong potential, but results remain limited. How do you assess this situation?

More than a decade ago, it was difficult to imagine Việt Nam’s cultural industries reaching the level of development we see today. Since the Government assigned the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to draft the Strategy for the Development of Cultural Industries, issued in 2016, there has been a major shift in perception: from viewing culture purely as a spiritual value to recognising it as an economic resource.

Amid the rapid growth of the global creative economy, Việt Nam’s cultural industries have, since 2016, grown at a pace close to the sector’s global average, making positive contributions to the country’s socio-economic development goals.

In terms of economic performance, the role of the cultural and creative industries has become more clearly recognised in recent years. This is a field with the potential to become one of the fastest-growing sectors in the global economy.

According to the General Statistics Office in 2023, the average contribution of cultural industries to value added during 2018–2022 reached nearly 3.5 per cent per year, higher than the global GDP average of 3.1 per cent reported by UNESCO in 2020. Several sectors such as handicrafts, gaming, software, advertising, and architecture are expanding rapidly and show strong potential to become key economic drivers.

However, for this potential to translate into tangible achievement, we still need a more complete ecosystem, a clearer legal framework and more practical support policies.

From 2018 to 2022, the production value of cultural industries at current prices averaged VNĐ1 quadrillion (US$44 billion) per year. In 2022 alone, the production value of 12 cultural industry sectors reached almost VNĐ1.99 quadrillion, with fashion accounting for the largest share, followed by cultural tourism, architecture, and cinema.

The share of cultural goods in Việt Nam’s total merchandise exports rose from 0.3 per cent in 2018 to 1.05 per cent in 2020. After the COVID-19 pandemic, the figure increased again, from 0.32 per cent in 2021 to 0.75 per cent in 2023.

Handicrafts have remained a strong sector since 2010, helping place Việt Nam among the world’s top 10 developing countries in handicraft export value. The sector is now considered highly promising, with a global market estimated at over US$1 trillion in 2023.

Cultural services, including software and video games, audiovisual services, advertising services, and architecture and design, are also showing signs of becoming leading economic sectors, with regional competitiveness and the potential to penetrate deeply into the global cultural services market.

Beyond economic values, the essence of cultural industries remains their cultural value. In recent years, through research conducted by our institute, I have observed very clear cultural and spiritual contributions from the sector. We now have more businesses, more creative spaces, more artists, and more practitioners.

As a result, cultural events are now of higher quality, more appealing and better able to meet the expectations of the public.

A series of art performances celebrating National Day on September 2 attracted tens of thousands of spectators.

Inner Sanctum: What are the biggest challenges faced by businesses and creative workers in the sector?

In Việt Nam’s cultural sector, private enterprises today carry a dual mission: driving economic growth while contributing to social, cultural and human development. This includes creating decent jobs for domestic workers, promoting cultural diversity and expression through the production, distribution and trading of cultural goods and services, and thereby helping to build, protect and enrich the unique cultural identities of the nation and its regions.

The challenges facing private enterprises in the cultural sector stem from limitations in the policy and legal environment, which still contain many inadequacies. These include restricted access to public and foreign funding; weak protection and exploitation of intellectual property to safeguard legitimate rights; increasing market competition, particularly in the digital environment; and legal regulations that are not yet conducive to the sector’s dynamics.

Around the world, there are preferential mechanisms for enterprises operating in culture, design, and the creative arts. These incentives are not short-term but sustained over time.

Looking specifically at the performing arts and cinema, Việt Nam still has many shortcomings: tax incentives remain unclear, procedures for sending artists abroad are cumbersome, and coordination among enterprises to facilitate international film crews coming to Việt Nam is still inadequate. Similar obstacles exist in many other fields.

Emerging sub-sectors related to software, multimedia communication, and a wide range of creative services still face multiple regulatory barriers, with no concrete provisions in current legal frameworks, even though the product lifecycle in these areas is often extremely short.

Another key issue is how private enterprises can access and make use of public cultural facilities. Public-sector resources have not been efficiently utilised, yet there is still no effective mechanism for coordination between the public sector, private entities, and artists.

That said, private businesses in Việt Nam also have many opportunities to enter the sector, thanks to the Việt Nam Communist Party’s progressive outlook and the Government’s policy frameworks that encourage the development of cultural industries as a key economic sector.

The rise of digital technology also enables businesses to transform their models, access domestic and international markets more easily, and diversify cultural products and services.

Inner Sanctum: What breakthrough solutions are needed to develop the market for cultural products and services today?

We need a new approach: shifting from the mindset of simply "doing" culture to actively enabling it. The State should serve as an institutional facilitator, provide foundational resources and create a favourable environment for cultural actors to grow.

Second, it is essential to establish a focal agency to coordinate interdisciplinary, interprovincial, and international cooperation programmes for cultural development. At the same time, we must strengthen the protection of intellectual property and update legislation to keep pace with emerging models such as AI and digital performances.

The establishment of a specialised intellectual property court, combined with technologies such as blockchain and AI to detect and handle copyright violations, is urgently necessary.

Inner Sanctum: Creative human resources are considered a key factor in developing cultural industries. What should be done to build this workforce?

A strong creative ecosystem requires human resources with interdisciplinary thinking, digital skills, knowledge of intellectual property, and an innovative mindset. I believe we need a national programme to nurture cultural and creative talents, combining domestic training, international scholarships, exchange programmes, internships in the creative industries, and inviting international experts to Việt Nam for training.

At the same time, we must diversify capacity-building formats, not only through academic institutions but also via public–private partnership projects, creative hubs, art platforms, and digital platforms.

Inner Sanctum: With the current pace of digital transformation, how do you envision the future of Việt Nam’s cultural industries on the global creative map?

Việt Nam enjoys multiple advantages: a young, creative and tech-savvy workforce; competitive costs; and strong support from the Party and the Government in promoting the digital economy.

The gaming and software sectors are clear examples: in 2024, Vietnamese games generated more than VNĐ2 trillion (US$76 million) from international markets, and software outsourcing has helped Việt Nam rank seventh globally.

If we can effectively coordinate policies, support creativity, protect intellectual property rights and ensure strong connectivity among stakeholders in the cultural industries ecosystem, I believe Việt Nam can absolutely become a new creative hub in the region -- and even a global cultural and creative destination -- within the next 10 years. VNS