At the meeting, People’s Artist Le Ngoc Cuong, head of the Performance Arts Agency, introduced the characteristics of all theatres in Hanoi and the Viet Bac Folk Theatre in the northern mountainous province of Thai Nguyen. Cuong’s introduction was so interesting it made all the theatre directors smile because through Cuong’s words, their theatres are sought after tourist destinations that offer traditional artistic performances. 

Contrarily, Vu The Binh, head of the Travel Agency, said these theatres don’t have shows worthy of tourism services and are not popular destinations.

Binh said tourists are a picky audience. They want to travel to different places and see different things, and all in a limited time. They don’t want to watch shows designed for local audiences.

A travel company said among dozens of theatres in Hanoi, i.e. the Vietnam Music and Dance Theatre, Vietnam Cheo (traditional operetta) Theatre, Central Tuong (Classical drama) Theatre, Vietnam Cai Luong Theatre, etc. Thang Long Water Puppetry Theatre is the top choice of Hanoi’s tourists.

Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Hoang Tuan Anh asked theatres to design special shows that better serve foreign visitors. He said the Ministry will assign the Travel Agency and the Performance Art Agency to assist theatres in the development of these performances.