FESTIVALS OF THE CENTRAL REGION AND HIGHLANDS OF VIETNAM IN THE MEDIA FOR PROMOTING TOURISM: HOW THE VNEXPRESS REPORTED THE EVENTS

Abstract

The Central Region and Highlands of Vietnam has a unique system of traditional and modern festivals. Media coverage of these festivals can promote the publicity of cultural values of this region to domestic and international visitors, thus promote the development of tourism in the region. This paper describes how the VnExpress, as the leading e-newspaper of Vietnam and the most popular Vietnamese e-newspaper in the world, reported the fesivals of the Central Region and Highlands in the year 2010. Research shows that the VnExpress paid little attention to the festivals of the Central Region and Highlands, and this attention does not match with the importance of the region. The Central Region and Highlands was portrayed in the VnExpress as a “region of natural disasters” rather than a “region of festivals”. The VnExpress also focused more coverage on the economic and national security problems than on the festival events of this region . This result suggests a need for appropriate public relation strategies to promote the publicity of festivals of the Central Region and Highlands in the media in the time to come. The research also leads to a three-stage model for reporting the festival events in the media, which includes pre-event, in-event, and post-event stage.