High airfares are still a barrier
According to Mr. Bui Quoc Thai - Director of Kien Giang Tourism Department, in the first 5 months of 2025, Kien Giang tourism is expected to welcome over 5.6 million visitors, an increase of 26.9% over the same period, over 780,000 international visitors, an increase of 77% over the same period; total tourism revenue is over VND23,000 billion.
Phu Quoc continues to affirm its leading position in Kien Giang tourism, as a leading attractive destination in the region with more than 3.5 million visitors, an increase of 30.5% over the same period, over 770,000 international visitors, an increase of 78.3% over the same period.
Achieving extremely impressive results, Phu Quoc still needs to improve itself to develop commensurate with the expectations of being a destination with a position in the region and the world.
Sharing with Lao Dong reporter, Ms. Le Thanh Thao - Chairman of Hanoi Travel Association - said that, in addition to the plus points, outstanding advantages and positive results of Phu Quoc, it is necessary to recognize the shortcomings and difficulties that have not been resolved. As a travel expert, Ms. Thao rates Phu Quoc as a top destination, fully equipped with amenities, diverse accommodation services, and tourists can freely choose according to their needs.
However, recently, Hanoi - Phu Quoc airfares have been high, so domestic tourists in Hanoi to Phu Quoc have decreased compared to before. Ms. Thao believes that airfares are an important factor, affecting customers' travel decisions.
The most feasible route for the Hanoi - Phu Quoc route is traveling by plane, which also speeds up and saves time, helping tourists enjoy the trip more fully. The time off and on tours often cannot last too long, so trains and cars are not suitable. I really hope that there will be a solution to balance the travel problem, only then will domestic tourists have the opportunity to visit Phu Quoc more in the coming time".
Ms. Thao also suggested that Phu Quoc should develop more tourism product packages suitable to trends and practical needs such as healing, relaxation and nature exploration, long-term international tourism product packages.
Investing in high-quality human resources
Mr. Tran Viet Phuong - Vice President of the Vietnam Tourism Association - proposed focusing on three groups of tasks. Promote linkages and cooperation in tourism development because this is an inevitable, objective and global requirement. He emphasized: "If you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far, go together. Therefore, linkage is the key to sustainable tourism development. The Government has also repeatedly affirmed the role of linkages in tourism planning and conferences.
The second is to strengthen tourism promotion and advertising: It is necessary to promote the effectiveness of public-private mechanisms, promote through many forms, creatively and effectively. Promotional content must be innovative, focused on, and focus on potential and key markets.
Finally, improving the quality of human resources, currently the rate of trained workers in the Mekong Delta is still low, only about 60%. Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen training linkages on management, operations, foreign languages and digital transformation.
Mr. Nguyen Vu Khac Huy - Permanent Vice President of Kien Giang Tourism Association - expressed that Phu Quoc will be the venue for APEC 2027, Kien Giang Tourism Association has planned and deployed to members on the goals and requirements to serve APEC.
In addition to infrastructure, human resources are one of the challenges and difficulties when participating in serving high-level customers, billionaires and businessmen around the world. The urgent requirement is basically high foreign language proficiency, so businesses have started to invest in facilities and human resources to successfully move towards APEC" - Mr. Huy shared.
