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Tourism in Phu Quoc has been sluggish for over a year. Will this situation continue?
Many tour guides have noted that tourists, having visited the northern part of the island, tend not to want to go to the southern part, resulting in a concentration of experiential services within a single area.
Tourism in Phu Quoc is fragmented, with a decline in visitor numbers due to the mindset that "there's nothing to do in Phu Quoc" and that Phu Quoc is too expensive.
That's unfair to Phu Quoc tourism. The development of resorts is positive, helping the island offer more high-end and convenient tourism products. Unfortunately, these projects are concentrated in only a few areas.
And so tourists from all over the world are brought to the same location and spend their money in that secluded area. While this is not a sustainable way to develop tourism, tourists need more opportunities to experience and connect with the outside world...
That's a done deal. Now we need to act to make Phu Quoc attractive to tourists again. How?
Many believe that Phu Quoc tourism needs to be interconnected to provide tourists with the most comprehensive services. Whether it's scuba diving, kayaking, fishing, or exploring the forest, tourists need busier itineraries instead of just visiting the night market and relaxing in their hotels.
Meanwhile, resort owners in Phu Quoc argue that, besides product and price factors, Phu Quoc lacks a proper international marketing campaign.
After the pandemic, domestic tourists helped Phu Quoc recover quickly, but the recovery of international tourists, who have abundant purchasing power to travel to the island, remains sparse.
Now is the time to act to make Phu Quoc attractive to tourists again.
It seems that Phu Quoc tourism is being treated the same as other destinations, while it needs its own recovery policy. Lack of effective marketing messages and imagery is preventing Phu Quoc from attracting tourists.
Furthermore, the visa exemption policy for international tourists visiting the island, provided they enter directly and do not travel to other locations, is still insufficient. Phu Quoc needs more tourists transiting through Tan Son Nhat airport.
In fact, after the COVID-19 pandemic, very few tourists came to Phu Quoc on direct flights to take advantage of the visa exemption policy.
Then, the high airfare prices deterred tourists from the North and international visitors from coming to Phu Quoc. The high prices of services and luxury accommodations also made Phu Quoc no longer a preferred choice for most tourists...
As the peak Tet holiday travel season approaches, Phu Quoc tourism cannot afford to decline. It needs revitalization to ensure this multi-billion dollar tourism asset generates profit. Tourists must have more opportunities to experience the pearl island.
But relying solely on Phu Quoc tourism to turn things around is unlikely to reverse this worrying reality. A conductor is needed to create international-scale promotional programs.
The government must take stronger action to gather and direct the resources and expertise of travel and airline businesses... in order to create new attractions for Phu Quoc tourism. To put it simply, this should be a call to action, to act immediately, and not allow the situation to worsen...
