Phu Quoc tourism has been facing many difficulties in recent times. Currently, visitors to Phu Quoc by air account for about 60%, by boat about 40%. However, flights and boats to this pearl island are all deserted. Many businesses have lowered service prices, not increased room rates... but still have not achieved expected revenue, needing more comprehensive solutions to attract visitors to Phu Quoc.
We have set many requirements for Phu Quoc, from forming high-quality eco-tourism areas, to developing financial and commercial centers, then developing innovation centers, and urban development. Too many responsibilities while the highlight of Phu Quoc about 20 years ago was the high-quality eco-zone, but it was not focused on development.
Many people were shocked when they saw the photo of Phu Quoc from the sea. One angle of the photo shows the entire island is a mess of concrete blocks, lacking any green space. It is truly a pity for the place known as the pearl island.
If Phu Quoc persists in developing towards high-quality, classy eco-tourism, even though there will be fewer visitors, it will still generate large revenues and create great attraction, competing in the international tourism market. The most important thing is sustainable development.
There are many reasons why the number of tourists to Phu Quoc is decreasing. That is, Phu Quoc is no longer a hot destination as before, many visitors have come to Phu Quoc more than twice in the past 2-3 years. Phu Quoc is only beautiful within the four walls of the resorts. In addition, the town is boring with rows of messy townhouses, without any unique architectural or landscape features.
Package tours to Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore are offered at much lower prices than those in Phu Quoc. Domestic tourists with high spending power choose to travel to Taiwan - China, Japan, Korea, Europe because they are truly "delicious, nutritious, and cheap".
Airfares are currently too high compared to the general level, especially in times of economic hardship. The latest survey shows that the lowest round-trip economy ticket price for the Hanoi - Phu Quoc route is 5 million VND/ticket, the highest is 8.1 million VND/ticket. The Ho Chi Minh City - Phu Quoc route is from 3.5 to 4.5 million VND/ticket.
Currently, the average spending for a trip to Phu Quoc ranges from 6 to 10 million VND. With this price, some domestic tourists believe that there is no reason why they should not choose Thailand, which is famous for traveling abroad and also allows them to eat and shop freely.
Statistics show that in 2018, Phu Quoc welcomed more than 4 million visitors, with revenue reaching VND 5,518 billion; in 2019, it welcomed 5.1 million visitors, with revenue of more than VND 18,595 billion; in 2020, it welcomed only more than 3.5 million visitors, down 30.6% over the same period; in 2021, it welcomed 2.3 million visitors, with revenue dropping to nearly VND 2,000 billion; and in 2022, it welcomed 4.7 million visitors.
From the above telling numbers, if Phu Quoc wants to attract tourists to come and return, both in the short and long term, there is no other way than for the Phu Quoc City government, the tourism industry of Kien Giang province, and tourism businesses to sit down together, "correct mistakes" with a spirit of openness, renew themselves, and create a real difference instead of blaming objective factors.
Phu Quoc has very little chance to revive its image after so many disappointments in infrastructure, sea quality, and commodity prices. Although the chance is small, if Phu Quoc is serious and determined, it will return to the tourism race.
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