Festival growth chain from the "launch pad" of Resolution 68

Tourists came to Ho Chi Minh City on the occasion of April 30 and May 1 holidays

The Ho Chi Minh City Institute for Development Studies (HIDS) has just submitted a proposal to organize the “Peace Festival” on the occasion of April 30 every year. In fact, the historical, cultural, political significance and the profound social impact of the event celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Liberation of the South and National Reunification have created an “exceedingly great” attraction in terms of tourism and services… This shows that the above proposal is appropriate and necessary.

During the 5-day holiday of April 30 and May 1 alone, Ho Chi Minh City welcomed nearly 1.95 million visitors, an increase of more than 100% over the same period; international visitors reached 120,000, double last year; total tourism revenue is estimated at VND7,100 billion; total citywide consumer revenue reached nearly VND129,000 billion, an increase of 38%.

To achieve the growth target of 8.5%/year, when domestic consumption is an important "pillar" and aiming to restore the 10.36% contribution of the tourism industry to the GRDP of Ho Chi Minh City, organizing another festival, an event to create attraction, contributing to increasing revenue for the city's important economic sectors, is very much needed to be considered.

It is important to put it in the context of the new Ho Chi Minh City after the administrative unit arrangement and the implementation of Resolution 68 on private economic development (Resolution 68), this is both an opportunity to open the door to invite businesses in related service industries such as tourism, arts, entertainment, food supply, logistics; and a test of the operating mechanism and implementation capacity of the parties in this attractive market.

However, first of all, it is necessary to change the festival organization mindset from “state-made” to “enterprise-led”. At that time, it is not simply a matter of sponsorship but of co-creating and organizing by enterprises; or taking the lead in all or each important task of art, technology, culinary, tourism and sports activities. From there, expand the space and content of the festival closely linked to the market, in order to promote and enhance the city’s image and export culture with organization and performance technology…

Resolution 68 encourages the application of the public-private partnership model in the fields of culture, public services, and smart cities. Therefore, Ho Chi Minh City can apply flexible ordering mechanisms, such as limited bidding or designated bidding for businesses with special capabilities in organizing cultural and technological events. Or contract the entire package based on output results, instead of just following administrative procedures, creating conditions for businesses to be more creative and proactive.

Here, the two “partners” are separated into two parts: “ceremony” and “festival”, in which the “ceremony” part includes political and historical rituals hosted by the State and the “festival” part includes community creativity, technology, and tourism services undertaken by businesses. Accordingly, the State provides incentives on taxes, fees, and premises for businesses investing in event infrastructure (organization centers, technology stages, service stations, etc.).

In recent times, the model of “The State orders - Enterprises implement” in the field of festival organization has been applied early and is popular in Ho Chi Minh City, such as festivals: Nguyen Hue Flower Street on Lunar New Year; Ho Chi Minh City - My Beloved City; Saigon Light Festival; International culture and cuisine...

Or the co-organization model (public-private partnership), demonstrated through the participation of state agencies and enterprises in the festival organization process: from the stage of developing ideas, designing content, to implementation and mobilizing resources. This balanced cooperation model combines state management orientation and creativity and resources from the private sector, with the success of the Ho Chi Minh City Ao Dai Festival, Ho Chi Minh City International Music Festival (HOZO), Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Festival...

There is also the “Sponsorship - Accompanying Enterprises” model, in which the State plays the role of organizing the festival, while enterprises provide financial sponsorship, services, communications or logistical support. Or the “Enterprise Organizes - State Supervises” model, in which enterprises plan, organize and implement the festival, while state agencies play the role of supervising, appraising and ensuring that the festival complies with legal regulations, cultural orientation and community safety. The fully socialized model reflects the trend of transferring the role of organizing festivals from the public sector to the private sector, in line with the principle of “State Creation - Enterprise Implementation”.

Together with the “toolkit” of Resolution 68 and Resolution 198, the new Ho Chi Minh City Peace Festival hopes to gather the necessary and sufficient conditions to mobilize businesses to invest and organize inter-regional events, along the urban corridor of the Saigon River, Can Gio beach, Vung Tau... spreading influence domestically and internationally.

NGUYEN QUAN CAT

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/chuoi-tang-truong-le-hoi-tu-be-phong-nghi-quyet-68-post800564.html