Following the "Red Rain"

QTO - After more than a month of release, the historical film “Red Rain” has reached a revenue of over 700 billion VND from the box office. From this success, tours following “Red Rain” have also begun to be deployed. Because not now, activities following film studios have become a creative approach, enriching the tourism picture of Quang Tri.

"Customer magnet"

The film set tourism model has been successfully exploited by many countries. In Vietnam, the effect of “Kong: Skull Island” once made Ninh Binh, old Quang Binh … become the focus of international tourists for a long time. From films such as “The Immortal”, “The Legend of Quan Tien” or the Hollywood blockbuster “Kong: Skull Island”, the big screen has repeatedly brought the beauty and story of Quang Tri and the Central region to global audiences.

This is proof that cinema will bring profound artistic value and open up a unique direction for tourism development, turning studios into attractive destinations and turning audiences into special tourists.

Tourists visit Quang Tri Ancient Citadel - Photo: DH

Most recently, the Indian film crew SILAA also set foot in Son Doong Cave and many other famous tourist destinations in Quang Tri to film scenes. The fact that a Bollywood film project chose Quang Tri as the setting is a positive sign that the attraction of this land has gone beyond the domestic scope.

In particular, the Indian tourist market is emerging as one of the potential sources of international tourists for Vietnam tourism. When Bollywood movies "landed" in Quang Tri, it also paved the way for the local tourism industry to build specialized products, connecting with the needs of this new group of tourists.

Travel with "Red Rain"

When “Red Rain” created a “fever”, attracting millions of viewers across the country, Quang Tri’s source tourism destinations, especially the relics associated with the film, quickly became “magnets” attracting visitors.

Mr. Pham Hoang Phuong, Director of Ken Travel Co., Ltd., said: “Previously, many units had exploited the source tours connecting the historical relic system in Quang Tri. However, when the film was released, promotional activities were promoted on digital platforms, creating a strong spread. In just nearly a month of “Red Rain” being released, the number of visitors to historical tourist sites in Quang Tri increased dramatically, especially at Quang Tri Ancient Citadel.”

The images of the locations appearing in the film have awakened historical memories, urging tourists to return to live in the real space of the tragic stories. Many travel companies have quickly built specialized tourism products, integrating cinematic elements to increase the attractiveness and uniqueness, directly connecting historical locations with the language of cinema. The tour is designed as a journey to the source, taking tourists through the main scenes of the film.

Foreign tourists visit Ta Con Airport relic - Photo: DH

As soon as “Red Rain” created a strong effect, attracting the attention of audiences nationwide, Netin Company Limited launched the 1-day “Following the Red Rain” experience tour. Director of Netin Company Limited Tran Xuan Cuong shared that the 1-day journey takes tourists starting from Dong Hoi or Dong Ha ward, to visit famous “red addresses”. The first stop is Vinh Moc tunnel, Parallel 17 and Hien Luong bridge.

The highlight of the tour is the unique organization. Instead of just stopping at sightseeing, the tour guide will lead visitors along the film's plot, telling stories from the film, helping them feel the heroic atmosphere of the war years. Visitors can feel like they are "entering the film", understanding more deeply the historical context through the lens of cinema. In the afternoon, the journey continues at Quang Tri Ancient Citadel, where the fierce 81-day battle took place in 1972 and Truong Son National Martyrs' Cemetery. These are places with profound spiritual and historical values, conveyed through realistic, touching footage.

Widen the aisle

“Red Rain” has brought Quang Tri a special opportunity. Not only recreating the tragic memories of the national defense war, the film also contributes to awakening the potential for developing a unique tourism product line: Cinema tourism combined with historical experiences. This is a way to make familiar places in the community's consciousness become more vivid, closer to the young generation, and at the same time expand the tourist base from domestic to international.

In 2024, the former Quang Binh province organized a tourism and film promotion program in Los Angeles (USA), attracting more than 500 guests from Hollywood film studios and filmmakers. At the event, Quang Binh introduced its tourism potential, support policies and commitment to accompany future film projects, as an effort to attract international film crews. This promises to become an important gateway to promote the image of Vietnamese tourism to the world through the language of cinema.

The benefits are clear, however, it also poses significant challenges for tourism businesses. To maintain its appeal, serious investment in accompanying services is needed. Interactive experiences, virtual reality technology or in-depth explanations are necessary for tourists to have a complete journey. Cinema is also seasonal. A movie can be "hot" for a few years, then the heat will gradually decrease.

The question is how to turn film effects into sustainable products, linked to the long-term strategy of Quang Tri tourism? The most important thing is to turn the filming location into a vivid experience space. If it only stops at "checking" the movie scenes, the product will hardly retain tourists for a long time. On the contrary, if exploited effectively, each scene in the movie can become a "golden coordinate" for tourists' check-in, experience and stay.

Furthermore, the province can proactively invite film crews to shoot in Quang Tri, from movies to TV series, even music videos. Each film produced is a free and effective "promotional trailer" for local tourism. At the same time, it is necessary to promote digital communication, combining social networking platforms such as TikTok and YouTube to turn filming scenes into attractive check-in points for young people.

Quang Tri is known as a “living museum” of history. Instead of just standing still in the past, that history is finding new ways to tell stories through cinema and tourism. Keeping up with the trend, bringing products at the right time not only helps preserve memories but also creates new vitality for the local tourism industry.

If we continue to exploit this direction well, Quang Tri can completely become a tourist center following the film set of the Central region, so that each film is truly a bridge connecting art, history and the journey of experience.

Dieu Huong

Source: https://baoquangtri.vn/du-lich/202510/theo-dau-mua-do-e1c5906/