Public Art and Tourism Destination Branding: Theory and Practice in Vietnam

Abstract

Recently, the role of public art in the tourism industry has been of interest and public art has become an important factor in choosing a tourist destination for tourists. However, the exploitation of public art in tourism activities in Vietnam has not received due attention and has not brought positive impacts on enhancing the brand of tourist destinations. Through qualitative methods, the study explores the potential, current situation and challenges in  exploiting public art and building tourist destination brands in Vietnam. The research results show that public art can create highlights for urban and rural spaces and make an important contribution to building the brand of tourist destinations in the hearts of tourists. Public art works continue to contribute to the preservation of local culture, create new aesthetic values and give tourists impressive feelings about that destination. Practice in Vietnam shows that the exploitation of public art has not received due attention. Based on research results and lessons learned from around the world, some recommendations are made to continue exploiting public art to build tourist destination brands in the context of developing art tourism and creative tourism.