Young people flock to Phu Quy

Binh Thuan Many young people choose to live for several months on Phu Quy Island, enjoying "green" tourism before this place is changed by urbanization and resorts.

Le Huyen, 24 years old, from Phu Tho, has lived and worked in Hanoi for 6 years, but has just moved to Phu Quy island to "trial" for more than 2 months. After the initial period of "crisis due to changing living environment", Huyen realized that Phu Quy is "easy to adapt", with a slow, leisurely pace of life and beautiful scenery. Low prices are a factor that attracts many young people like Huyen to Phu Quy, with a total cost of about 5-6 million VND/month.

Because she works freelance, Huyen is more proactive in finding sources of income to cover her living expenses. Currently, many young people who come to Phu Quy to live are trusted by many tourists and hired as tour guides when they go to the island. Huyen herself is also known by more people thanks to her posts about life in Phu Quy.

Le Huyen has lived on Phu Quy Island for more than 2 months. Photo: Le Huyen — Le Huyen has lived on Phu Quy Island for more than 2 months. Photo: *Le Huyen*

According to Huyen, there is a phenomenon of "leaving the city for the sea" in Phu Quy. After a short time here, Huyen has made many friends who also came from the city, some of whom have been in Phu Quy for up to 4 months.

Pham Tan Hiep, a local tour guide, said that in the first months of 2023, his number of visitors was 2-3 times higher than the same period in previous years. Hiep's income has also improved significantly after the pandemic. Most of the visitors are young people who say they want to come to Phu Quy "before tourism changes this place".

Dang Thi Nguyet, a homestay owner in Long Hai, was surprised by the rapid development of Phu Quy in the past year. "Before, Phu Quy had only a few guests from Binh Thuan province. I don't understand why Phu Quy has grown so quickly," said Ms. Nguyet, who has lived on the island since she was a child.

According to her, the number of customers increased quite a lot after the pandemic and was strongest about 2 months after Lunar New Year. The customers are mainly young people, few groups. The number of long-term customers, about a few months, accounts for about 40% of Ms. Nguyet's total customers.

Phu Quy's rapid tourism development has forced her to let her newly built 4-room house, which was completed in early 2022, be rented out to guests. She plans to invest in another homestay if the number of visitors remains as positive as it is now.

Speaking to VnExpress , Mr. Bui The Nhan, Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Binh Thuan province, explained that Phu Quy is attractive to young people after the pandemic because it is a beautiful island with pristine natural scenery and almost untouched by professional tourism services. The "green" lifestyle after the pandemic and the trend of low-contact tourism also make pristine destinations like Phu Quy more popular. In addition, doing a good job of communication and managing orderly tourism business activities also helps Phu Quy "score points" in the eyes of tourists.

In 2019, the island welcomed 42,000 visitors and is expected to welcome 74,000 visitors by 2030. However, since 2022, Phu Quy has welcomed 93,875 visitors, far exceeding initial expectations. During the recent April 30 holiday, Phu Quy welcomed about 7,000 visitors. Many visitors to the island do not have a room to stay due to limited accommodation facilities.

A homestay in Phu Quy. Photo: Hiep Phu Quy — A homestay in Phu Quy. Photo: *Hiep Phu Quy*

Phu Quy has 56 operating accommodation establishments with a total of 678 rooms, including 17 hotels, 31 motels, and 8 houses with rooms for rent. The district also has about 150 dining establishments.

Mr. Nhan said that the number of accommodation and dining establishments in Phu Quy has met the needs of visitors on normal days. However, during holidays when many tourists gather, there may still be a shortage of rooms. Phu Quy also does not have any tourist accommodation establishments that are ranked to be able to welcome high-spending tourists or international tourists.

That is also part of the reason why Phu Quy has emerged so quickly but has not attracted group tourists but only young, independent travelers. Mr. Bui Thanh Tu, Marketing Director of Best Price, said that tourism businesses often only invest in products in easy-to-sell routes. For example, Thailand has the very beautiful and pristine Hua Hin area but there are few sellers. Chiang Mai is more famous but does not sell as much as the Bangkok - Pattaya route.

"On the other hand, the current infrastructure in Phu Quy is not enough to serve group tourists. Simply being wild is not enough," said Mr. Tu.

According to Mr. Nhan, Binh Thuan aims to turn Phu Quy into a key tourist area by 2025, maximizing the potential of sea and island resort tourism, cultural exploration, and seafood cuisine... The provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism has proposed a number of plans such as mobilizing and creating conditions for new projects on tourism, sea sports, investing in infrastructure and facilities in Phu Quy, and building wastewater treatment systems on the island.

Tu Nguyen

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