Within the framework of the 2025 Da Nang Asian Film Festival taking place in early July, the film "Love in Viet Nam" was officially released, marking a new beginning for the wave of exploiting Vietnamese tourism through Bollywood cinema - one of the largest film production centres in the world.
The film features attractive scenes of Da Nang, Da Lat, Ninh Binh, Cao Bang, and Ha Long Bay, with 75% of its footage shot in Viet Nam.
According to statistics, Viet Nam welcomed 501,000 Indian visitors in 2024, nearly three times higher than in 2019 – the pre-COVID-19 period. In just the first six months of this year, 337,500 Indian tourists arrived in Viet Nam, an increase of over 40% compared to the same period last year.
International tourists visit Tam Coc, Ninh Binh.
Sharing at a recent meeting with leaders of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Rahul Bali, the director and main producer of “Love in Viet Nam”, said that Viet Nam is a wonderful country with beautiful nature, friendly people, and rich cuisine. The film production process left a deep emotional impression. In August 2025, another Bollywood project titled “Silaa” is scheduled to begin filming in Viet Nam. This will be the first Indian film to feature scenes in Son Doong – the world’s largest cave – and many other famous destinations such as Ha Long, Ninh Binh, Hoi An, and Da Nang.
Love in Vietnam had its world premiere at the 3rd Da Nang Asian Film Festival
Love in Vietnam had its world premiere at the 3rd Da Nang Asian Film Festival (DANAFF III) before embarking on its international journey. The premiere in Da Nang marked an important starting point for the film’s global path, with the participation and direct engagement of director Rahhat Shah Kazmi and lead actors Kha Ngan and Shantanu Maheshwari.
Love in Vietnam had its world premiere at the 3rd Da Nang Asian Film Festival (DANAFF III)
Love in Vietnam has been honored at the Seoul Global Movie Awards (SGMA) 2025 with two major awards: Best Film of Asia Best Director awarded to Director Rahhat Shah KazmiThis marks the first international co-production in history to receive both top honors at SGMA - one of Korea’s most prestigious international film awards, jointly organized by the Korean Film Actors Association and the Seoul Metropolitan Government.
Love in Vietnam has been honored at the Seoul Global Movie Awards (SGMA) 2025
The expressive way of the “seventh art” holds particular appeal for tourists. Many destinations around the world have become tourism hotspots thanks to the wide-reaching influence of famous films.
In Viet Nam, the relationship between tourism and cinema is also increasingly acknowledged. For instance, following the release of the film “Indochine”, many places such as Ha Long Bay (Quang Ninh), Thai Hoa Palace, Tu Duc Tomb (Hue), and Tam Coc–Bich Dong (Ninh Binh) began attracting more European tourists. In particular, the success of the blockbuster “Kong: Skull Island” helped elevate places like Ha Long Bay, Phong Nha–Ke Bang National Park, Tam Coc, and Van Long to stardom on the Vietnamese tourism map.
According to a survey conducted by Booking.com, up to 55% of Vietnamese Gen Z are willing to visit landscapes they have seen in films or television shows.
Nguyen Trung Khanh, Chairman of the Viet Nam National Authority of Tourism, emphasised that cinema is identified as an effective communication channel to spread the image of Viet Nam’s land, people, and culture, thereby attracting high-quality tourists and elevating the national tourism brand. In recent years, the tourism sector has taken specific steps to concretise the strategy of tourism promotion through cinema, including: Viet Nam’s Tourism–Cinema Promotion Programme in the US in September 2024; the seminar “Viet Nam – a dynamic Asian market and new destination for international film crews”; and the Vietnamese Cinema Night programme during the 2025 Cannes Film Festival in France.
To make Viet Nam a highlight on the global tourism-cinema map, the authority will focus on implementing a tourism-cinema linkage strategy, aiming to build a favourable legal environment, enhance the capacity of the film production support ecosystem, promote public-private and international cooperation, and actively utilise images of destinations that appear in films for tourism marketing efforts.
"Cinema is identified as an effective communication channel to spread the image of Viet Nam’s land, people, and culture, thereby attracting high-quality tourists and elevating the national tourism brand."- Nguyen Trung Khanh, Chairman of the Viet Nam National Authority of Tourism.
Many experts believe that in order to attract more major international film crews to Viet Nam, in addition to being ready to support site surveys, domestic service partner connections, and ensuring safety and security, the country must also adopt greater flexibility, transparency, and openness in its licensing process, as well as offer tax and fee incentives for film crews.
The tourism sector is also planning to organise tourism promotion forums linked to cinema in India, starting with a roadshow to promote tourism in major cities with many Bollywood filmmakers, scheduled for September 2025.
