From the sea and island destination to "integrated island economy
According to The Business Times, the difference in Sun Group's approach is that it does not develop individual projects but aims to build an "integrated island economy", where transportation, aviation, accommodation, entertainment, conference and visitor infrastructure are connected into a unified operating system.
The newspaper quoted Mr. Dang Minh Truong - Chairman of the Board of Directors of Sun Group as saying that the business does not aim to "share the pie" of the existing market, but wants to invest in infrastructure to create a new market with Phu Quoc. According to The Business Times, this is also the consistent thinking in this group's development strategy in Pearl Island.
The article argues that with a destination like Phu Quoc, the development of individual projects will be difficult to create long-term efficiency if there is no synchronization in airport, transportation, technical infrastructure and passenger flow. Therefore, Sun Group is assessed to be approaching Phu Quoc as "a system", instead of gathering independent projects.
The Business Times considers Sun Paradise Land a typical example of how Sun Group builds a "complete experience ecosystem", connecting accommodation, Hon Thom cable car, water park, cuisine, art performances and Sunset Town in a closed journey.
According to the famous Singaporean newspaper, the goal of the model is to extend the length of stay, increase spending and gradually turn Phu Quoc from a sea resort destination into a destination that can retain tourists day and night.
The Business Times also said that Sun Group is learning from the experiences of Sentosa (Singapore), Jeju (Korea) and Okinawa (Japan) to develop Phu Quoc in the direction of both expanding tourism scale and maintaining the identity of an island destination.
APEC 2027: The challenge is not only infrastructure construction, but also creating long-term attraction
According to The Business Times, APEC 2027 brings Phu Quoc a rare opportunity to introduce Vietnam's image to international leaders, businesses and media. However, the question the newspaper raises is whether the island has enough capacity to maintain visitor flow, spending power and infrastructure exploitation efficiency after the event ends.
That is also the reason why Sun Group not only invests in hotels, amusement parks or convention centers, but also expands into the aviation sector to proactively create more international tourist sources for Phu Quoc. According to the newspaper, this is part of the strategy of "proactively expanding the market", instead of waiting for demand to form itself.
The newspaper calls Sun Phu Quoc Airways a "driver to create demand" for the destination as the airline is positioned to bring passengers directly to Pearl Island and connect with the accommodation, resort, entertainment and conference system that Sun Group is developing.
At the same time, The Business Times also emphasized the project to expand Phu Quoc International Airport to a capacity of 24 million passengers per year and in the future will increase to 50 million passengers, along with cooperation with Changi Airports International to develop the airport according to "Changi standards". According to the article, the project's ambition is not only to expand transport capacity but also to aim for the "airport destination" model - where the airport becomes part of a tourism experience, combining transportation with retail, entertainment, iconic architecture and large-scale events.
From a broader perspective, The Business Times believes that the strategy in Phu Quoc reflects the trend of Vietnam increasingly mobilizing the private sector to participate in investing in strategic infrastructure projects. However, along with the opportunity, there is great pressure on capital, deployment capacity, logistics, materials and high-quality human resources in the context of the whole country entering a strong investment cycle.
Closing the article, The Business Times said that APEC 2027 will be a "test" for Sun Group's deployment capacity as well as the ability to realize a long-term vision for Phu Quoc. If it maintains its attractiveness after the conference, Pearl Island will not only fulfill its role as APEC host but also have the opportunity to become one of the new tourism, resort and convention centers (MICE) of Asia.
