FROM CANNES TO DA NANG: HOW FILM FESTIVALS CAN BECOME A NEW DRIVER OF CULTURAL TOURISM, CREATIVE ECONOMY, AND DESTINATION BRANDING

In the development strategy of a modern tourism destination, the key question is not just how to attract more visitors, but how to make them come for deeper values, stay longer, spend more, return more often, and speak about the city with more positive emotions. For many years, Da Nang has built an image as a dynamic, friendly, and safe coastal city with good tourism infrastructure, the ability to organize large-scale events, and serving as the connecting hub of Central Vietnam. However, to move into a new stage of development, Da Nang needs more than just the advantages of the sea, resorts, and infrastructure. The city needs products with cultural depth, capable of creating identity, stories, emotions, and elevating the destination brand.

In this context, cultural and artistic tourism, especially cinema and international film festivals, should be viewed as an important pillar of the modern tourism economy. A film festival is not just a place to screen movies, present awards, or welcome artists on the red carpet. If organized persistently, professionally, and linked to a destination development strategy, a film festival can become a “soft engine” generating economic, media, cultural, and urban diplomatic value. It helps a city be seen, mentioned, positioned, and remembered in the minds of the international public.

The Da Nang Asian Film Festival – DANAFF, therefore, should not be seen merely as an annual cultural event. DANAFF can and should be viewed as a new development platform for Da Nang: a platform connecting cinema with tourism, culture with economy, art with urban branding, and local experiences with international networks.

Cultural and Artistic Tourism: From a “Beautiful Destination” to a “Soulful Destination”

A city can attract tourists with beautiful landscapes, good hotels, delicious food, and convenient services. But to become a destination with long-lasting vitality, that city must have a cultural life, events that create emotion, and the ability to tell its story to the world. Cultural and artistic tourism is how a destination transitions from “a place to go” to “a place to feel.”

With coastal tourism, visitors may come for the sun, sand, sea, and relaxation. With event tourism, visitors come for a specific moment. But with cultural and artistic tourism, visitors come for a more personal and emotional experience: watching a film, meeting an artist, attending a special screening, walking on a red carpet, attending a film music night, visiting creative spaces, chatting with the filmmaking community, or simply living in the festive atmosphere of a city opening its heart to the world.

At an economic level, cultural and artistic tourism has the potential to create a very wide spillover effect. When a film festival is organized, the flow of visitors to the city is not just the audience. It also includes directors, actors, producers, distributors, investors, media, photographers, technical experts, event organizers, corporate sponsors, fans, and regular tourists. Each of these groups creates different demands: accommodation, transportation, dining, meetings, banquets, shopping, sightseeing, media, content production, logistics services, security, interpretation, design, advertising, fashion, and technology.

Thus, a film festival, if organized at the right level, not only generates revenue during the few days of the event but also activates the city’s entire service ecosystem. Hotels increase occupancy. Restaurants increase revenue. Transportation units see higher demand. Conference and seminar spaces are utilized. Media, creative, and event organizing businesses have more work. Sightseeing spots get more visitors. The city gains more images, more stories, and more reasons to appear on the international media map.

More importantly, cultural and artistic tourism helps improve the quality of tourism growth. Da Nang does not just need more visitors; it needs groups of visitors with higher spending power, longer stays, more diverse experience needs, and better communication capabilities. This is the group of visitors that cultural and artistic events can attract if built systematically.

Cannes: When the Hotel Industry Initiated a Cultural Asset for the City

When talking about the economic power of a film festival, Cannes is the most typical example. Before becoming the “film capital of the world,” Cannes was a quiet fishing village on the Mediterranean coast, later developing into a winter resort for European aristocracy and the upper class. The city already had a tourism foundation, but it was mainly based on landscapes, climate, hotels, and a luxury resort image.

A detail worth reflecting on is that in the history of the Cannes Film Festival, the local hotel industry played a crucial role in initiating and promoting it. After World War II, when European tourism faced many difficulties, hoteliers in Cannes saw cinema as an opportunity to put the city back on the international tourism map. In other words, Cannes did not wait for tourism to develop before creating a film festival; it was the hotel industry that helped launch a cultural event to create a new reason for tourists, artists, media, and the elite to return to the city.

This detail holds great significance for Da Nang today. If Cannes shows that the hotel industry can be a pioneering force in creating an international cultural brand, then Da Nang can also promote the role of the tourism-hotel business community in accompanying DANAFF. A hotel is not just a place to provide rooms; it can be an event space, a place to welcome artists, a meeting point for producers, businesses, the press, investors, and the film-loving public. With the advantage of conference infrastructure, coastal resorts, and high-end services, Da Nang’s hotel industry can completely become one of the important forces helping DANAFF develop from a film festival into a cultural-cinema tourism season for the city.

The Cannes Film Festival was born in 1946, in the context of Europe just emerging from war. At that time, Cannes was not yet a global cinema hub. But the organizers saw a great opportunity: using cinema to bring the city to the world. From a cultural event, the Festival de Cannes gradually became a strategic asset for the city. It transformed Cannes from a high-end resort destination into a global symbol of cinema, fashion, media, tourism, trade, and lifestyle.

The most valuable lesson from Cannes is not the red carpet or the appearance of stars, but how the city turned the film festival into an economic ecosystem. Cannes does not just organize screenings and awards. Cannes builds an entire season of events: film premieres, artist meetings, press conferences, side events, banquets, industry conferences, copyright transactions, film markets, media activities, yachts, fashion, hotels, restaurants, and the night economy. The whole city becomes a stage for cinema.

Recent data clearly shows this economic power. In 2025, the Festival de Cannes was recorded to have generated over 200 million euros in local economic impact, approximately 13,400 direct and indirect jobs, and nearly 80,000 room nights, while the festival period can account for about 20% of the annual revenue of accommodation establishments. Marché du Film – the film market within the Festival de Cannes ecosystem – attracts more than 15,000 professionals from 140 countries, hundreds of exhibitors, and thousands of screening, networking, and transaction activities. This shows that Cannes is not just a cultural festival, but also a cinema business market and an urban economic engine.

Looking at the timeline, the lesson becomes even clearer. Before the film festival, Cannes sold landscapes, climate, and relaxation. After the film festival, Cannes also sold reputation, symbols, professional networks, global media, creative industries, and the red carpet experience. Previously, Cannes was where wealthy Europeans went for vacation. Today, Cannes is where the worlds of cinema, media, commerce, and tourism meet. This is the transition from resource-based tourism to symbolic value-based tourism.

Da Nang does not need and should not copy Cannes. Each city has its own history, scale, and identity. But Da Nang can learn a very important mindset from Cannes: a film festival is not just an event for the film industry; it can become a tool for destination economic development if placed within a long-term strategy.

DANAFF: An Opportunity for Da Nang to Upgrade Its Destination Brand

The Da Nang Asian Film Festival – DANAFF is opening a new development direction for the city. With a theme carrying the spirit of connecting Asia to the world, DANAFF not only creates a playground for cinema but also contributes to positioning Da Nang as a rendezvous for culture, art, creativity, and international exchange.

DANAFF IV 2026 is expected to introduce more than 100 films, about 200 screenings, along with many professional activities, artist exchanges, seminars, workshops, project markets, industry networking, and programs for the public. These elements show that DANAFF is step-by-step moving from a screening festival to an industrial platform. When a film festival includes activities like workshops, project markets, industry networking, industry days, or script labs, that event serves not only the audience but also the development of the industry.

For Da Nang, this is a huge opportunity. The city already has hotel infrastructure, resorts, an international airport, a convenient transportation system, beautiful coastal spaces, the capacity to organize conferences and seminars, and large-scale event complexes such as Furama Resort Danang and the Ariyana Convention Centre Danang. These are very important conditions for a film festival to develop sustainably. A city that wants to host an international cinema event needs not only theaters and artists but also an entire ecosystem of accommodation, conferences, cuisine, transportation, media, security, logistics, and high-end services.

The fact that key DANAFF activities take place at Furama Resort Danang and the Ariyana Convention Centre Danang has significance beyond just the venue. This is a typical image of the ability to combine coastal resorts, MICE, red carpet events, professional conferences, banquets, and international exchanges. If well-utilized, this area can become a “festival hub” – where cinema, tourism, conferences, and high-end services meet.

Da Nang has an advantage that Cannes does not have in the same way: its central location in Central Vietnam, near three world cultural heritage sites: Hue, Hoi An, and My Son; it has the sea, mountains, rivers, a modern urban area, and a rich local culture. If Cannes is associated with the Mediterranean, the Riviera, and European luxury, Da Nang can build the image of a “red carpet on the shores of the East Sea” – a youthful, hospitable, modern, open Asian film festival rich in Vietnamese emotion.

Economic Impact if Da Nang Leverages DANAFF

The first and most obvious impact is direct tourism revenue. During the days of DANAFF, guests, artists, film crews, the press, cinema experts, corporate sponsors, fans, and tourists will create additional demand for accommodation. If the event is well-promoted and has a rich schedule of activities, visitors will not just come for one night to attend the opening or closing ceremony but may stay for many days to watch films, attend exchanges, join seminars, meet partners, and experience the city. This directly benefits hotels, resorts, tourist apartments, restaurants, cafes, transportation units, sightseeing spots, and auxiliary services.

The second impact is the ability to extend the tourism season and reduce dependence on traditional peaks. Da Nang already has a very strong coastal tourism season, but a sustainable destination needs a year-round event calendar to distribute the flow of visitors more evenly. If DANAFF is positioned as a cultural-cinema tourism season, the city can create more reasons for visitors to come outside of the usual holidays. Cannes achieved this by turning May into a special peak season for the city. Da Nang can certainly learn how to create its own “DANAFF season.”

The third impact is increasing the average spending of tourists. Visitors coming for cultural and artistic events usually do not just spend on hotel rooms. They spend on airfare, restaurants, parties, drinks, shopping, transportation, night experiences, short tours, souvenirs, personal services, and social activities. If the city knows how to design appropriate product packages, DANAFF can become a tool to increase spending rather than just increasing the number of visitors.

The fourth impact is the development of the night economy. A film festival should not end when the last screening closes. After the screenings come exchanges, parties, music, exhibitions, conversations, partner meetings, culinary experiences, walking streets, creative spaces, and outdoor activities. This is when the night economy is activated. Da Nang can develop film music nights, cinema culinary nights, outdoor film screenings by the sea, red carpet check-in spaces, cinema streets, themed parties at hotels, and artist-public exchange activities. Then, DANAFF will not only take place in theaters or halls but will spread throughout the city.

The fifth impact is the development of MICE and international events. DANAFF has a very clear intersection with MICE: seminars, press conferences, forums, business networking, banquets, award ceremonies, project markets, programs for investors, and networking activities. This is a segment where Da Nang has a great advantage thanks to its conference and seminar infrastructure, high-end hotels, international airport, and experience in organizing many large events. If DANAFF is designed as a cinema-MICE-tourism complex, the city will attract a higher-value group of visitors.

The sixth impact is destination promotion through soft media. An advertising campaign may end after a few weeks, but a beautiful image in a movie, a red carpet moment, an interview with an international artist in Da Nang, a television news report, a social media post, or a behind-the-scenes video can spread very far. Cinema and entertainment media have special power because they touch the public’s emotions. As DANAFF develops, Da Nang’s image will not only appear in tourism promotion materials but will also flow into popular culture.

The seventh impact is the development of creative industries and film tourism. Da Nang and Central Vietnam have many potential settings for films: the sea, Son Tra Peninsula, Han River, Dragon Bridge, Golden Bridge, Ba Na, modern urban areas, craft villages, nearby heritage sites, culinary culture, and local life. If DANAFF becomes a meeting place for filmmakers, producers, investors, and management agencies, the city can attract more filming projects, television programs, documentaries, international commercials, and digital content. When a film chooses Da Nang as its setting, the city gains a long-term promotion channel. Film tourism can thus become a new product, connecting sightseeing tours with filming locations, behind-the-scenes stories, and creative experiences.

Conditions for DANAFF to Become an “Economic Asset” for Da Nang

A film festival only creates a major impact when it is seen as an asset of the destination, not as an event that ends once it’s over. For DANAFF to contribute more strongly to Da Nang’s economy, a synchronized strategy is needed between the government, the tourism industry, the cultural industry, businesses, professional associations, organizing units, the artist community, and the people.

First, it is necessary to build the “DANAFF season” as a tourism product. The city should have accommodation packages combined with film screenings, cinema tours, culinary tours for DANAFF guests, city tour programs for artists and the press, incentives at hotels-restaurants-sightseeing spots, DANAFF maps, and shuttle routes connecting screening points, event areas, beaches, hotels, and the city center. When tourists come for the film festival, they need to be guided to consume and experience more.

Second, DANAFF needs to be brought out of closed spaces. A successful film festival is not just for those with invitations. It must have a life in the community. Outdoor screenings, cinema photo exhibitions, exchange spaces, open red carpets, activities for students, cinema classes, talk shows with directors, and programs for children and families can help Da Nang residents become part of the film festival. When people are proud and participate, the event will have stronger social roots.

Third, an international media strategy for DANAFF and Da Nang needs to be built. Each DANAFF edition should have a clear set of messages about the city: Da Nang is an Asian cinema destination by the sea; Da Nang is a city of conferences, resorts, and creativity; Da Nang is the gateway to exploring Central Vietnam; Da Nang is where artists and tourists can meet in a safe, friendly, and inspiring space. That message needs to be conveyed consistently through the press, social media, videos, images, KOLs, artists, airline partners, hotels, and travel agencies.

Fourth, DANAFF needs to be connected with the business ecosystem. Hotels, resorts, restaurants, bars, shopping centers, transportation companies, travel agencies, sightseeing spots, event organizers, universities, and creative businesses can all participate. When businesses co-design products and co-benefit, DANAFF will create a broader economic impact. This is how Cannes turned the Festival into a business season for the entire city, not just a program for the organizers.

Fifth, DANAFF Industry Days need to be developed into a substantive cinema trade platform. The lesson from Cannes’ Marché du Film shows that long-term value lies not just in awards, but in the market. Da Nang should aim to build activities connecting production, distribution, investment, copyright, digital platforms, human resource training, and the introduction of filming locations. When there are transactions, projects, and cooperation, DANAFF will move beyond the festival framework to become the soft infrastructure of the film industry.

Sixth, there needs to be a mechanism to measure the annual economic impact. To convince society and businesses to accompany it long-term, DANAFF needs to be measured by specific data: the number of visitors to the city during the event, room occupancy, average room rates, number of room nights, restaurant revenue, transportation usage, media volume, social media interaction, industry transactions, number of connected projects, guest satisfaction, and converted media value. Cannes can talk about over 200 million euros in economic impact because they have a sense of measurement. Da Nang also needs to build this habit early on.

The Role of the Hotel and Tourism Service Industry

Da Nang’s hotel industry plays a special role in turning DANAFF into a destination product. A hotel does not just provide a bedroom. In a film festival, the hotel is where artists are welcomed, press conferences are held, exchange parties take place, investors are connected, film crews are served, media is supported, experience spaces are created, and the city’s service quality is demonstrated.

Furama Resort Danang and the Ariyana Convention Centre Danang are typical examples of this advantage. With experience in organizing international events, large conference spaces, coastal resort services, and the ability to serve high-end guests, this area can become one of the important centers of the DANAFF season. When the red carpet, conferences, banquets, accommodation, and coastal experiences are connected within the same ecosystem, the economic value generated will be much greater than if the activities took place separately.

For Da Nang hotels in general, DANAFF is an opportunity to raise service standards. Film festival guests often have high requirements for time, security, privacy, media, transportation, cuisine, foreign languages, and flexibility. Serving this group of guests well will help Da Nang consolidate its image as a professional destination, ready to host larger international events in the future.

Da Nang Needs Its Own Story, Not a Copy of Cannes

Cannes is successful because Cannes has its own story. Da Nang must also have its own story. We do not need to turn Da Nang into a second Cannes. The important thing is to build a film festival that carries the spirit of Da Nang and Asia.

That story can start with the image of a youthful, dynamic, safe, and friendly coastal city. A city with the Han River, My Khe Beach, Son Tra, iconic bridges, rich cuisine, hospitable people, a location connecting Central Vietnam’s heritage, and an aspiration for international integration. DANAFF can become a place where Asian cinema meets, where young filmmakers are encouraged, where the Vietnamese public accesses quality works, and where Da Nang introduces its beauty and organizational capacity to the world.

If Cannes is the Mediterranean red carpet, Da Nang can be the red carpet on the shores of the East Sea. If Cannes represents the long history of European cinema, Da Nang can represent the new vitality of Asian cinema. If Cannes is associated with the luxury of the Riviera, Da Nang can be associated with the hospitality, youthfulness, creativity, and closeness of Vietnam.

The important thing is to be persistent. A film festival cannot become an international brand after just a few seasons. Cannes needed many decades to become the Cannes of today. DANAFF also needs time, but if there is the right vision and the accompaniment of the city, businesses, artists, media, and the community, DANAFF can completely become a special cultural-economic asset of Da Nang.

Conclusion: DANAFF is an Opportunity for Da Nang to Develop More Deeply

Da Nang is standing before a great opportunity. The city already has the foundation of a strong tourism destination: beautiful beaches, good infrastructure, quality hotels, an international airport, event organization capacity, and a friendly image. But to develop more sustainably, Da Nang needs products with cultural depth and the ability to create identity. DANAFF is precisely one of those products.

If leveraged well, the Da Nang Asian Film Festival can contribute to the city on many levels of value: increasing tourism revenue, raising accommodation occupancy, developing the night economy, promoting MICE, enhancing the destination image, attracting international media, developing creative industries, activating film tourism, and deepening urban cultural life. This is not just a story of cinema, but a story of destination economics.

The lesson from Cannes shows that a film festival can change the destiny of a city’s brand. From a coastal resort, Cannes became a global symbol by knowing how to turn cinema into an urban asset. More notably, in that journey, the Cannes hotel industry played a crucial role in initiating and promoting it, showing that the tourism-hotel industry is not just a beneficiary but can be a force in creating cultural products for the destination. This is a lesson very close to Da Nang today.

Da Nang may not follow the same path as Cannes, but it can learn the same mindset: taking culture as depth, art as language, events as catalysts, tourism as a foundation, and the creative economy as the future.

DANAFF does not just bring the international cinema red carpet back to Da Nang. DANAFF can lead Da Nang onto a larger “red carpet”: the red carpet of cities that know how to develop through identity, creativity, and the ability to tell their story to the world.

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Nguyen Duc Quynh

Vice Chairman of Da Nang Tourism Association

Chairman of Da Nang Hotel Association