Da Nang's effort in promoting Tuong to tourists
DNO - Connecting Tuong (Vietnam’s classical drama) with tourism is opening a new path for Da Nang to preserve its traditional theatre while creating distinctive cultural experiences for visitors.
For generations, Tuong has been an important part of Vietnam’s performing arts heritage, preserving stories, music, distinctive costumes and traditional stagecraft.
Today, Da Nang is seeking new ways to bring this heritage closer to contemporary audiences and international visitors.
Nguyen Thi Huong, Director of the Da Nang Traditional Arts Theatre, said preserving and promoting Tuong through tourism has become one of the theatre’s key priorities.
In recent years, the theatre has participated in major tourism and cultural events across the city, including New Year celebrations and the Food Tour Festival, introducing audiences to Tuong through traditional dances, character mask performances and selected excerpts.
The approach is also creating new opportunities for the art form to become economically sustainable. The theatre is currently assigned an annual revenue target of VND3 billion from Tuong performances.
It has signed commercial performance agreements with partners and now stages three shows each week at Da Nang International Airport, generating around VND15 million per performance.
The theatre is currently rehearsing "Di San Da Yen" (Heritage Night Feast), a 45-minute production portraying the historic effort to open the Vinh Te Canal under the command of Vietnamese General Thoai Ngoc Hau.
Commissioned by a tourism company in Ho Chi Minh City, the production demonstrates how traditional theatre can find new audiences through partnerships with the tourism sector.
“Amid international integration and the development of the cultural industries, connecting Tuong with tourism is increasingly important,” Huong said.
For Da Nang, which is positioning itself as a city of events and festivals, Tuong can be more than a heritage to preserve. It can become a distinctive cultural asset that enriches tourism products, showcases local identity and gives visitors a deeper connection with Vietnam’s cultural traditions.
With stronger links between artists, tourism businesses and audiences, Tuong has an opportunity not merely to survive, but to thrive in a new era.