Kazakhstan opens weekly direct flights to Phu Quoc

Air Astana will launch new direct flights from Kazakhstan's capital Almaty to Phu Quoc, demonstrating the island's growing appeal to tourists from Central Asia. Starting from October 28, 2024, Air Astana will launch a new route, departing from Almaty (Kazakhstan) to Phu Quoc (Vietnam) with a frequency of 2 times/week, then increasing to 4 times/week from December, according to Astana TV channel. Accordingly, flights will depart on Mondays and Wednesdays, at 22:45 (local time) from Almaty and arrive in Phu Quoc at 8:15. The return flight will depart on Tuesdays and Thursdays, taking off from Phu Quoc at 9:45 and arriving in Almaty at 15:50 (local time). This is considered a positive signal for Phu Quoc, showing the increasing attraction of the island, which has just been internationally recognized as the second best island in the world, by the World Travel Awards of the famous travel magazine Travel Leisure. On the other hand, Vietnamese tourists also benefit from this direct flight, as Kazakhstan has exempted visas for Vietnamese citizens since June 13, 2023. Tourists from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City can choose to travel to Phu Quoc, then depart for Almaty. The expected ticket price announced by Air Astana is from 18 million VND for a round-trip ticket. This is not the first time a Central Asian country has opened a direct flight to Phu Quoc. Previously, the Pearl Island witnessed the "invasion" of Uzbek and Mongolian tourists in late 2023 and early 2024, showing the attractiveness of this destination to tourists from cold countries. Not only that, Phu Quoc is also the only place in Vietnam that offers visa exemption for up to 30 days for all international visitors.

Foreign tourists enjoy the warm sunshine in Phu Quoc.

“Visa exemption for Kazakhstani tourists to Vietnam, and visa exemption for Phu Quoc for all international visitors, is like a ticket to paradise. I love Phu Quoc because of its friendly people, delicious food, and especially the seascape here is as beautiful as a real paradise,” said Tatyana, a Kazakhstani tourist. According to descriptions in Kazakh newspapers, Phu Quoc is a picturesque island. Astana TV channel commented that Phu Quoc is becoming famous with tourists all over the world thanks to its white sand beaches and clear water. According to experts, October-November is the right time to open a new flight route to Phu Quoc, as the island enters its most beautiful season of the year. Booking booking platform at the end of 2023 also ranked Phu Quoc Island in the top 5 “most romantic” autumn destinations in Vietnam, thanks to its ideal mild weather in autumn and winter.

Phu Quoc is one of the unique places in the world that shoots fireworks every night.

These days, Phu Quoc has almost no rain, the sun is beautiful as honey, the sea is calm and the weather is cool, so it is suitable for tourists from Central Asian countries to escape the cold in their countries, to find warm sunshine on the Pearl Island. Not only that, the end of the year is also the time when Phu Quoc prepares to launch a series of new tourism products, such as pool party shows, EDM... in Hon Thom; a show combining jetski & flyboards with drums, lion dances and giant kites in Cau Hon; a puppet show at the A Oi theater; the opening of a brewery... in the Sun Paradise Land complex, making the average length of stay of a tourist in Phu Quoc longer and longer.

Tourists swim at the beach overlooking the Kissing Bridge in Sunset Town.

Therefore, many tourists from Russia and European countries choose to stay in Phu Quoc for a long time, up to more than 1 month. They choose to work remotely so that they can enjoy the warm sunshine of Phu Quoc every day. In addition, the cost in Phu Quoc is also considered reasonable by tourists from these countries for a long stay. The Canadian travel news site - The Travel at the end of September 2023 also ranked Phu Quoc in the top 17 islands with the best travel costs in the world. According to The Travel , although the price of accommodation in Phu Quoc may be slightly higher than mainland destinations, it is still much more reasonable than other famous islands in the world. The Nation Story newspaper of a country famous for its cheap travel costs like Thailand is impressed that Phu Quoc has service prices that are half as cheap as Thailand.

The Lonely Planet praised the experience of the world's longest three-wire cable car to Hon Thom Island as "worth the money, worth the value".

Many tourism experts said that Phu Quoc tourism is bustling again when welcoming many international flights. This year, international visitors to Phu Quoc are forecast to double compared to the same period, mainly from Korea, Taiwan, Russia, Central Asian countries, etc. In the first 8 months of this year, Kien Giang is estimated to welcome more than 7.6 million visitors (reaching 83.3% of the yearly plan), of which international visitors are estimated to welcome over 665,000 (reaching nearly 98% of the yearly plan); total revenue reaches over 18,000 billion VND (reaching more than 90% of the yearly plan). Source: https://nhandan.vn/kazakhstan-mo-duong-bay-thang-hang-tuan-toi-phu-quoc-post827782.html