To make museums an indispensable destination for tourists during their visit to Da Nang, educating pupils and students as well as creating a need for cultural enjoyment for tourists are very crucial. In addition, museums are required to renew open exhibition spaces, and regularly organise new, meaningful activities in a bid to lure more visitors.
Pupils visiting the Museum of Da Nang. Photo: H.T.V
Creating enjoyment need
Da Nang has a diverse and rich museum system, most of which are located in the city centre, close to each other, so traveling is convenient. However, how to attract more visitors to museums is still a difficult problem.
According to Mr. Huynh Dinh Quoc Thien, Director of the Museum of Da Nang, museums are a place where diverse cultural institutions converge, so all activities and experiences must best serve the enjoyment needs of visitors. Not to mention international tourists, how to get local people to the museum is also important because they are culture ambassadors. They enjoy something good and meaningful from culture, they will spread it to more people.
“I think museums should target parents because they are the ones who educate their children. The children will be the core of future cultural transmission. At the same time, people working in museums must be bold for change. However, there is in need of the city leaders’ decisions and directions to build a brand and promote heritage in a more directional and effective way” Mr. Thien said.
Researcher Bui Van Tieng, Chairman of the city’s Historical Science Association, said that we cannot force people and tourists to go to museums. Education and creating a need to enjoy culture, especially for the generation of pupils and students, is the prerequisite to nurture curiosity and love for museums.
He also undertook the need for museums to offer discounts on admission fees on holidays or special events, bring new and attractive experiences to visitors, and cooperate with tour operators to include them on the list of must-visit spots in the city.
Also, museum workers are required to be knowledgeable, thorough, and proficient in skills. Schools need to cooperate with museums to organise cultural and historical lessons because forming a good education for the future generations of the country will contribute to preserving culture in the future, he emphasised.
Renewing museums day by day
As a tour guide who has 30 years of experience in taking groups of French tourists to the Da Nang Museum of Cham Sculpture, Mr. Nguyen Truong Nguyen, 58, shared that in order to lure more visitors, first of all, the museum must have impressive spatial and architectural highlights, and then pay attention to the elements of the exhibits and the way to approach the exhibits.
For him, the Museum of Cham Sculpture did well. Notably, the museum has applied technology to help visitors easily find information.
Ms. Ha Thi Huyen Anh, Deputy Head of the Department of Education and Communication of the Museum of Cham Sculpture, revealed that, to attract and increase the rate of visitors returning to the museum, the museum is currently adjusting the space for displaying the documentary photo series "Connecting Cham cultural heritage in the South Central region" and the space for displaying Dong Duong archaeological photos.
Additionally, the museum has replaced the version of the Ganesha E5 statue with the original one in the My Son gallery. The original artifact is displayed right in the centre of the My Son gallery, allowing visitors to enjoy one of the national treasures.
In addition, the museum opens its warehouse on the 1st and 15th days of each lunar month to facilitate visitors to have the opportunity to admire the National Treasure - Bodhisattva Tara/Laskmindra Lokesvara.
Aside from the fixed space, the museum has increased the organisation of events and thematic exhibitions related to Cham culture, Cham art performances (traditional dances, folk songs), and spaces for traditional Cham craft villages to create a real-life experience environment for visitors, she added.
Heed should be on developing educational products for diverse audiences, improving service quality, and creating more ancillary products to bring friendliness and comfort to visitors, Ms. Anh noted.
Mr. Huynh Dinh Quoc Thien said that the Museum of Da Nang has changed its visiting space to be both static and dynamic, no longer confined to partitions and exhibition rooms. Thanks to that, it helps to increase tourists’ experience. The facilities here contain full spiritual values, build brands and identities, and revive artifacts so that each artifact is a story.
Moreover, the museum regularly organises educational programmes and enhances experiences for visitors with fish sauce making, singing and mat weaving. Many "unique" online historical documents have been created in a bid to create curiosity and increase exploration so that visitors can come to the museum to see real people and real events.
Reporting by Huynh Tuong Vy - Translating by M.Dung