Revenue shortage still troubles development of digital museum

via Saigon Giai Phong, 20 June 2022: While some Vietnamese museums are going hard on digital, the gap between investment and income is quite wide.

In Vietnam, the first museum to go digital is Vietnam National Museum of History, turning many of its items to 3D objects on the cyber space. Via a computer monitor, smart phone, visitors can see these objects and even their cracks in great details.

Similarly, Vietnam National Fine Arts Museum has launched the app iMuseum VFA for distance visiting, with 8-hour guidance in 8 languages. Some parts in the app need a fee of VND45,000-50,000 (US$1.9-2.1) to access.

This virtual channel of museums seems promising in increasing their revenues. CEO of Vietsoftpro Hoang Quoc Viet shared that the income from virtual visits of museums around the world is quite impressive, yet this channel in Vietnam is still new and in the piloting period. The virtual museum can be integrated in various activities like arts or history lessons at school, brining mutual benefits for both the museum and learners as theoretical information becomes more vivid for studying and researching.

Sadly, in Vietnam, the revenue from this channel is rather unstable, and museums have to mobilize many resources to maintain their digital databases or continue digitizing their artifacts. It seems the gap between investment and income is still quite high.

Source: Revenue shortage still troubles development of digital museum | Culture/art | SGGP English Edition