Top businesses gather in Phu Quoc
Recently, Phu Quoc became the focus of the regional tourism industry when it gathered more than 70 representatives from world-famous airlines, travel agencies, and online travel platforms on the famtrip "Journey to Paradise Island".
The event gathered big names in the online tourism industry such as Trip.com, KKday, Klook... or travel agencies, hotels Pegas Touristik, Anex, Accor & Ennismore, Rixos Hotels... and airlines such as Starlux, SCAT, Vietnam Airlines, Thai Vietjet... further affirming Phu Quoc's position on the regional tourism map.
Ms. Weichun Liu - CEO of Kkday expressed her feelings about the development of Phu Quoc: "The first time I came here in 2022, I was really impressed with the Hon Thom sea-crossing cable car project. This time returning to Phu Quoc, the island not only has infrastructure or hotels but also many programs, performances, night markets... to attract international visitors".
A representative of Asia's leading e-commerce platform providing travel services said Phu Quoc is a destination that has everything for everyone.
“This island has a luxury segment, a family segment, and also a segment for young people who love to party. I think this is a place where you can come back year after year and have a new experience each time,” Ms. Liu affirmed.
“Even better than Las Vegas,” said Selcuk Iscimen, CEO of Dorak MICE, after enjoying the Kiss of the Sea show in the south of Phu Quoc Island.
Not only the entertainment, recreation, and culinary experiences... attract the attention of industry experts, the accommodation infrastructure on Phu Quoc Island is also a factor that businesses are interested in.
Mr. Ben Chang, Director of Starlux Vietnam branch, expressed that he had the opportunity to go to Thailand, visit Phuket and Koh Samui, and saw many high-end hotels there. But in Phu Quoc, the hotels are really luxurious and have much more reasonable prices.
“This is a strong point that can attract tourists to Vietnam. Tourists can enjoy nature, experience high-class services, visit museums, have fun...”, he said.
Sustainable motivation to become a customer magnet
In addition to its strengths, to ensure the number of foreign visitors grows sustainably in both quality and quantity, international tourism businesses recognize that Phu Quoc needs to overcome shortcomings in infrastructure, ecosystem, visa policy, market research and development, etc.
“Phu Quoc needs to improve facilities for international tourists such as hospitals, supermarkets and public transport systems. In addition to buses, services such as Grab or GrabFood also need to be more widely available to increase the convenience of tourists’ vacations,” said Mr. Ben Chang.
Similarly, Mr. Hong Jung Min, Managing Director of Hanatour Vietnam, pointed out that Phu Quoc’s infrastructure still needs to be upgraded. “I believe that when infrastructure development projects such as roads and tourist attractions are completed, we will see this island become a ‘Hawaii of the East’.”
A representative of South Korea's largest travel agency suggested that the local tourism industry should focus on developing markets with regular commercial flights as a foundation, then exploit additional charter flights during peak seasons.
“This will help Phu Quoc become a sustainable market. The domestic market and the Korean market are typical examples,” Mr. Hong analyzed.
Besides investing in infrastructure and tourism products, international businesses believe that visa policy plays a particularly important role in opening Phu Quoc's doors to visitors.
“Visa exemption is another point that attracts international visitors to Phu Quoc, making it easier for them to travel. In addition to what Phu Quoc already has, increasing flights and visa exemption are really two really important factors,” Ms. Liu said, suggesting that the island should expand this policy to attract potential markets.
Planning the future for Phu Quoc
In recent times, Phu Quoc has really made remarkable changes when attracting investors to invest in entertainment, recreation and resort complexes worth thousands of billions. According to Kien Giang Department of Tourism, Phu Quoc City has 274 tourism investment projects (accounting for 86% of tourism investment projects in the whole province), with a total scale of 9,485 hectares and a total investment capital of 388,410 billion VND.
Entering 2025, Kien Giang province's tourism industry will strengthen its development in terms of scope, scale and service quality, ensuring sustainability. In the new year tourism picture, Phu Quoc still has a lot of room for development when the locality speeds up the completion of the Project to develop Phu Quoc city into a high-quality eco-tourism service center, national and international sea and island tourism according to Resolution 13-NQ/TW of the Politburo and Resolution 78/NQ-CP of the Government.
To make Phu Quoc tourism picture more and more brilliant, it is indispensable to have the companionship of international enterprises in well-invested projects, with strategic visions of the times and breakthrough solutions.
As early as 2025, Starlux announced that it would open a charter flight from Taiwan (China) to Phu Quoc in January. Meanwhile, Rixos, Ennismore's luxury all-inclusive hotel brand, laid the first foundation in Phu Quoc when choosing the island as the place to operate the first luxury all-inclusive resort model in Southeast Asia.
Mr. Francois Boudin, representative of Rixos Hotels, said that this is an important first step to enter this potential area.
“This place has all the entertainment experiences and activities that tourists are looking for. In particular, the Sun Paradise Land ecosystem is a comprehensive tourism development model, combining resorts, entertainment, sports activities, cuisine, and health care,” he said.
The representative of the luxury hotel brand based in Türkiye expressed his belief that the resort experience of tourists in Phu Quoc will be enhanced with the birth of Rixos Phu Quoc, contributing to attracting international visitors with high spending needs and long-term stays.
Meanwhile, Mr. Sam Chen, Deputy General Director of Hoang Tra Travel, believes: “Phu Quoc Island is a new product with room for development in the future. The island has a strong local identity, offering adventurous experiences and new things. When spread on media channels, Phu Quoc Island will attract the attention of international visitors and become a hot tourist destination.”
In 2024, Phu Quoc is expected to welcome 5.9 million visitors, up 7.1% year-on-year, according to statistics from the Kien Giang Provincial Department of Tourism. The international visitor market is estimated at 962,449, up 73.4% year-on-year, exceeding the 2024 plan by 44.4%. By the end of November, Phu Quoc welcomed more than 4,000 international flights, up more than 175% year-on-year.
With diverse tourism products, Phu Quoc is considered a destination with enough appeal to attract tourists to return many times. Through the perspective of the world's leading tourism businesses, it can be said that Phu Quoc is converging enough favorable conditions to become a new magnet, attracting global tourists.
