“Bali is culturally oriented, but now it has degraded. Phuket is nightly entertainment oriented with all kinds of night tourism products, sports and many other things. Personally, I do not rate Phuket highly. Phu Quoc currently has many competitive advantages compared to other islands and destinations in the region,” said Associate Professor, Dr. Pham Trung Luong.
Phu Quoc is packed with tourists on the occasion of the New Year 2025, with more than 60 flights arriving and departing every day. The streets are congested. Fireworks are brilliant from evening to New Year's Eve 2025. There are things that have never happened in Phu Quoc, making this island a phenomenon of Vietnamese tourism in 2024.
We interviewed Associate Professor Dr. Pham Trung Luong, Former Deputy Director of Vietnam Institute for Tourism Development Research, about the breakthroughs and changes in Phu Quoc tourism.
+ As an expert with a comprehensive and overall view of tourism, how do you evaluate the advantages and potential of Phu Quoc (Kien Giang) at the present stage?
- Associate Professor, Dr. Pham Trung Luong: For more than ten years, Phu Quoc has changed and developed very strongly. Fortunately for Phu Quoc, there are many investors with heart and vision, so Phu Quoc has the appearance it has today. For any destination, the role of investors is very important. They may have the capacity, but if they do not have vision, do not have passion for development, they will only focus on profit and like that, it will certainly affect the sustainability of the destination.
Assoc.Prof.Dr. Pham Trung Luong, Former Deputy Director of Vietnam Institute for Tourism Development Research
Back to Phu Quoc, in the beginning, before Sun Group and other corporations and investors came in, the central areas of the island such as Duong Dong and Bai Dai were cut into small pieces and divided into lots, in line with the mainland mindset. Since Sun Group invested in the South of the island, the island has completely changed. I consider Sun Group's investment in the South of the island to be brave because that land is very difficult to develop. However, the South of the island has a very unique marine ecosystem and marine resources. The islands of Hon Roi, Hon Thom and some other islands have very special values, need to be preserved and exploited better in an ecological direction. The South has now been invested quite well by Sun Group, creating its own difference.
The difference in tourism is very important. To be different and stand out from other tourist islands in the region and the world, I think Sun Group should develop an ocean park. There, natural elements are used as much as possible, ecosystems are restored and people can observe and experience the seabed with modern equipment, such as submersibles. Or create seabed experience areas. Those are very good and unique products that today's techniques and technology completely allow to do that.
Modern products such as the show “Symphony of the Sea” or iconic structures such as the Kissing Bridge are also suitable in those areas. The combination of modern products and products associated with natural elements will certainly make a big difference for Phu Quoc.
+ Having closely followed Phu Quoc tourism activities for a long time, how do you evaluate the dramatic changes of this island?
- Associate Professor, Dr. Pham Trung Luong : The current development of Phu Quoc is also different from the original idea. It can be affirmed that compared to many other destinations in the country, Phu Quoc has many opportunities to develop and compete with other destinations in the region such as: Phuket (Thailand), Bali (Indonesia)...
However, Bali follows the direction of culture. This island takes culture as the soul to develop. Phuket follows the direction of nighttime entertainment with all kinds of forms, night tourism products, combining sports and many other things. Personally, I do not rate Phuket highly. Bali follows the direction of promoting cultural identity but now it has also degraded.
Phu Quoc currently has many competitive advantages compared to other islands and destinations in the region. The important thing is to create a difference and preserve natural elements. This is Phu Quoc's biggest advantage. In the immediate future, it is necessary to determine and orient the urban development of Phu Quoc city in which direction: Industry or tourism, marine economy...?
If tourism is identified as the spearhead, planning must serve tourism development. Tourism development ideas must also have the appearance of a tourist city, not like the current urban area. Only then can Phu Quoc create a difference, especially the difference in the value of tourism products that tourists can enjoy. And this value must be respected by nature, trying to preserve as much of nature as possible, then there will be very long-term development and a lot of room for development.
Phu Quoc tourism planning since 2000 also had many ideas that are still valid today. Phu Quoc is a global destination, so from that time we proposed visa exemption for all international visitors from all over the world to Phu Quoc. This visa exemption policy of Phu Quoc has been well implemented and proven effective in practice and is an important factor in attracting international visitors to this city. In addition, bringing electricity from the mainland to Phu Quoc instead of building 2 thermal power plants on the island as some initial proposals have helped Phu Quoc both preserve the environment and develop strongly as it is today.
The water cannon performance creates a garden of light on the South Phu Quoc sea. Photo: Hoang Dinh Ngoc
+ It can be seen that, compared to the desolate and chaotic situation a year ago, Phu Quoc has now almost completely “transformed”. Phu Quoc City is not only civilized and clean thanks to urban renovation work, but also increasingly attracts more tourists. How do you evaluate this change in Phu Quoc?
- Associate Professor, Dr. Pham Trung Luong: After the Covid-19 pandemic, amid the general anxiety about recovery, Phu Quoc, although welcoming guests back early, has been plagued by sloppiness, "ripping off" guests, high prices, and uncivilized behavior towards guests... However, the good news is that after a year of efforts to rectify the situation, Phu Quoc's image has improved a lot. According to statistics, every day this December, especially on Christmas and New Year's Day, Phu Quoc welcomed more than 30 international flights, more than twice as many as in the first months of this year and creating a big gap compared to the same period in 2023, when the island only welcomed 2-5 international flights per day.
There are many direct flights to Phu Quoc, but currently there are still few connecting flights from major tourist centers of the country to Phu Quoc. This is a story that I think has been around for a long time and we have not yet solved it, that is, there is no real "handshake" between the tourism industry and the transportation industry, especially the aviation industry, leading to quite high domestic airfares to Phu Quoc, causing domestic tourists to consider choosing to travel to Phu Quoc.
Phu Quoc is increasingly attracting more tourists (Photo: Bai Kem)
Here I also want to emphasize the domestic market. Our domestic customers have many different segments, so we also need to have products that are suitable for the desired segments. In all cases, we must minimize the impact on the natural environment. That is a problem that can be solved, not that it cannot be solved. Therefore, we must change our thinking and have a positive view of domestic customers to better exploit this market in the future. In addition to solving problems related to airfares, we need to strengthen links with waterway transport to improve better transportation conditions for customers to Phu Quoc.
I think that Phu Quoc’s current products are suitable for domestic tourists of medium and higher income, not for mass tourists. However, it is necessary to diversify tourism products to stimulate tourists’ spending. In particular, it is necessary to focus on promoting the development of the night-time economy so that tourists coming to Phu Quoc will spend more.
In addition to the product system, iconic constructions in Phu Quoc such as the Kissing Bridge in the South of the island are also very important because they are images and deep impressions that will remain in the minds of tourists after each trip and will spread to friends and relatives, and through that, Phu Quoc will be better known in the international and domestic tourist markets.
Kissing Bridge - The project is considered a new symbol of Phu Quoc tourism
+ According to the Master Plan of Phu Quoc City to 2040, Phu Quoc City strives to become an island city, a center of high-quality tourism and resort services, with identity and attractiveness for domestic and international tourists... In your opinion, has Phu Quoc been on the right track in the past and what achievements have been made to achieve this goal?
- Associate Professor, Dr. Pham Trung Luong: To form a system of coastal and island tourism urban areas, it is necessary to have a system of criteria recognized by law. Previously, the concept of "Tourism Urban Area" was expressed in the Law on Tourism, however, due to many reasons, this concept was not included in related Laws, especially the Law on Urban Planning.
In fact, besides the general urban function, many cities have their own advantages in development such as cultural heritage, industry or tourism. When talking about coastal cities, we are referring to the geographical location of the city in coastal areas or on islands, but have not yet shown the main functions and advantages in urban development. Therefore, we have not created a specific difference in urban development. Tourist cities are special cities where the development of the city is based mainly on tourism advantages. Therefore, there needs to be a separate system of criteria for these cities.
Those tourism-specific criteria must demonstrate the role of the tourism industry in socio-economic development, especially the role of tourism in the lives of urban residents, demonstrate the role of local culture, lifestyle and behavior of residents towards tourists, demonstrate the requirements for architecture, construction of infrastructure works, social services, demonstrate the requirements for landscape architecture, public spaces, etc. Developing Phu Quoc island tourism urban area is no exception and the city government needs to have a vision and be steadfast in that development direction.
The role of investors here is also very important. Phu Quoc has many big investors but there must be policies to retain investors and attract more green investors. Many big investors are in Phu Quoc, dedicating their hearts to Phu Quoc. On the contrary, the government also needs to have policies to reassure them to invest with long-term, stable policies.
Phu Quoc can completely become an international-class eco-tourism center if there are many green investors, enthusiastic and visionary tourism investors. Besides, there should be policies for people to participate in tourism development.
Since I made the Phu Quoc Tourism Planning 20 years ago, I still want and believe that Phu Quoc will become an international destination, playing an important role in the development of tourism as well as the socio-economic development of the country. With its values of landscape, nature, social environment, and investment environment, I think Phu Quoc can absolutely do that. The problem is political determination and real participation to turn these wishes into reality. And if so, Phu Quoc will make a great contribution not only to Kien Giang province but also to the country.
Currently, the green and private trend is dominant. It is possible to exploit small bays and private islands to develop tourism products, forming high-end products, green tourism products, genuine ecology, creating new attraction for Phu Quoc tourism.
I see that SunGroup Corporation has recently created new products, new shows, new activities to attract visitors to Phu Quoc such as: Cau Hon, the international show series "Kiss of the sea" and "Ocean Symphony" with 2 fireworks performances every night, starting construction of the Aspiration building - Aspira Tower or bringing the high-end Rixos resort brand to the island... These projects, products and services have and will contribute to stimulating visitors' spending, developing the night-time economy, visitors can extend their stay in Phu Quoc without getting bored. We should continue to maintain and further develop such tourism products in the South of the island.
+ Thank you!
Source: https://www.congluan.vn/phu-quoc-co-rat-nhieu-loi-the-canh-tranh-voi-phuket-bali-post329971.html
Comment (0)