Since the Vinh Hao-Phan Thiet expressway was put into operation, shortening the travel time from Ho Chi Minh City to Phan Thiet City, many tourists have chosen to travel to Phu Quy Island. In addition, the time to travel by speedboat from the mainland to Phu Quy Island is only about three hours, so the number of tourists to the island is increasing, causing the island to be overloaded.
Overloaded with garbage and water
Since late April, high-speed boats from Phan Thiet city to Phu Quy island have departed, each carrying an average of 300 passengers. On weekdays, there are about 6-7 trips from the mainland to the island and vice versa; the number of trips increases on weekends. On average, Phu Quy island welcomes about 1,000 people each day. During the April 30 and May 1 holidays, there are 15-16 trips to the island and vice versa each day. On the boats, tourists carry a lot of luggage, along with a lot of plastic waste. Right on the island, accommodation facilities and food services have also increased their capacity according to tourists' needs. From there, more plastic waste is created, creating pressure on the island.
According to many residents, domestic water on the island depends on rainwater reservoirs and wells. Underground water is only exploited at "the right rate" to avoid landslides. Hotels and homestays have sprung up to store water, so many households lack water. Water on the island is only supplied during the day. The weather is hot, the demand for domestic water of tourists increases... This means a reduction in the amount of domestic water for local people. Notably, the number of homestays on the island increased from nine establishments in 2019 to more than 100 establishments by 2024. Some homestays have been expanded, increased in area, increased in number of floors or built more rooms. Many coffee shops have sprung up close to the sea, causing loss of urban beauty.
Recreational activities such as SUP, diving, coral viewing, etc. are right next to the aquaculture and seafood farming areas and floating restaurants. Many boats carrying tourists to floating restaurants are also overloaded. According to regulations, these boats can only carry eight people, but sometimes they carry 10-12 people. The floating restaurants are made of wood, but are very crowded with tourists. Many tourists throw fruit, leftover food, and plastic bags into the sea. According to a person who raises aquatic and seafood on floating rafts, in the past, this area only had cages for raising aquatic and seafood and there were very few cases of aquatic and seafood deaths.
Since tourism has developed, restaurants on rafts have sprung up. Many units have opened more rafts for tourists to dive and see coral. Therefore, corals are gradually dying because tourists dive down and pull them up or trample them. Only Bai Can is small, with one side being a restaurant; one side being a cage for raising aquatic and seafood; and one side being for tourists to dive and see corals. However, it is not clear why tourists can swim and dive in this area. Many people have suggested that since the island has had more tourists, the economy of the islanders has improved, but the State needs to have a plan to harmonize interests and ensure the ecological environment.
During a survey trip to open a tour in Phu Quy, Ms. Nguyen Thi Huyen, Director of a travel company in Hanoi, commented that the island has wild beauty but its development is not sustainable and has not been systematically planned. Hotels and homestays have sprung up massively, but they cannot meet the needs of large groups of visitors. Food and beverage services do not ensure seating and food hygiene and safety. Tours to Hon Den and Hon Tranh islands go by boat without control from local authorities, posing a potential risk of incidents for tourists while traveling.
Fundamental solutions are needed.
Phu Quy District has been approved for planning until 2030 to become a key tourist area of the province, promoting the potential advantages of sea and island resort tourism associated with heritage, learning about sea culture, and sea cuisine; gradually building a green and sustainable tourist area. Mr. Ngo Tan Luc, Vice Chairman of Phu Quy District People's Committee, said: In 2023, Phu Quy welcomed more than 165,000 visitors, a high increase compared to the plan. In the first quarter of 2024, Phu Quy welcomed more than 23,000 visitors, including more than 900 international visitors.
Also in the past few years, the number of accommodation establishments has increased rapidly; there are currently about 60 hotels, motels and 120 homestays. Food and beverage services have also increased in capacity. Currently, the island has about 30,000 residents, receiving an average of about 1,000 visitors to the island every day. The biggest pressure on the island is domestic water and environmental sanitation. Therefore, the District People's Committee regularly promotes environmental protection and water conservation among the people. In the near future, the district will review and license entertainment and resort venues.
According to the Center for Clean Water and Rural Environmental Sanitation of Binh Thuan province, Phu Quy district has seven centralized domestic water supply works with a total designed capacity of 2,680m3/day, the rate of households using hygienic water is 100%; the rate of households using water from the factory is 70%. Of which, the center manages and operates Long Hai water plant and Ngu Phung water plant with a total designed capacity of 2,200m3/day.
However, these two factories only exploit 15 wells out of 19 drilled wells with a total exploitation flow of about 1,220m3/day and night. The remaining drilled wells have not been exploited due to lack of capital for investment, so the water supply capacity only meets about 50% of the people's domestic water needs. In the past, the two factories had to regulate water supply alternately between areas. In addition, the remaining 5 water supply works are privately managed and exploited, providing water with a capacity of 60-180m3/day.
According to Mr. Tran Van Liem, Director of the Center for Clean Water and Rural Environmental Sanitation of Binh Thuan province, due to climate change, the wells of the factory on Phu Quy island are saline and have high nitrate content, so they cannot be exploited at full capacity, while the demand for clean water is increasing. Currently, the center has a project to survey and evaluate water reserves to exploit groundwater to supply domestic water with a requested exploitation flow of 2,000m3/day and night.
In order to invest, upgrade, expand and increase water supply capacity, the Provincial People's Committee has issued a policy to implement projects to repair and upgrade the Ngu Phung and Long Hai water systems; implement the project of level 1 pumping station and raw water pipeline from two surface water reservoirs to Ngu Phung water plant. The Center proposed the Provincial Department of Planning and Investment to advise the Provincial People's Committee to assign a capital plan for 2024 to have a basis for implementing a nitrate treatment model for Ngu Phung water plant. The project to build freshwater reservoirs and upgrade and renovate the water supply system is in the process of surveying groundwater locations, aiming to build four water storage reservoirs with the most optimal efficiency.
Regarding waste treatment on the island, because the Phu Quy Waste Treatment and Recycling Plant is currently operating, it has only been assigned 7,000m2 of land out of a total of 2 hectares, so it has not been able to build to its full scale and its waste treatment capacity has not reached the design. Ms. Nguyen Thi To Nu, Deputy Director of Phu Quy Waste Treatment Plant, said that the land area that has not been handed over is the location of the landfill before the construction of the plant. The landfill has a volume of hundreds of thousands of tons. The plant is waiting for the province to approve the unit price for treating this backlog of waste.
Mr. Pham Van Thanh, Director of Phu Quy Power Company, said that with the support of the electricity industry and local authorities, in 2023, the unit will ensure power supply for political, economic and social purposes. Since tourism has developed, the power output capacity in 2023 has increased by more than 17% compared to 2022.
Currently, Phu Quy uses an independent power grid running on diesel and wind power, so the cost is high. In order to ensure people's lives, the electricity industry must compensate for losses so that the electricity price on the island is equal to the price on the mainland. In addition, the local government promotes the use of energy saving. Currently, many houses on the island do not install solar energy because it is easily damaged during the rainy and stormy season.
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