In Asia, Thailand is a pioneer in opening its doors to international visitors through the "Phuket Sandbox" program. Vietnam can also learn from Thailand's strategy and adjust it to suit the market. Although the Phu Quoc reopening plan has many similarities with Phuket, according to Mr. Mauro, there are still some differences that need to be noted. One of them is that tourism activities in Phuket depend largely on the international market, while Phu Quoc is mainly a destination for domestic visitors (90%), which shows that domestic visitors are still the main source of revenue for the pearl island.
Mr. Mauro Gasparotti - Director of Savills Hotels
In addition, Mr. Mauro also pointed out a number of issues that need to be noted before implementing the pilot project. The first is the issue of time, which requires completing preparations for the opening to take place safely and completely. The second is the ability to attract tourists when Vietnam is known as a country rich in cultural experiences and many famous tourist destinations. However, the application of vaccine passports currently has many restrictions on movement and only allowing to go to a certain location will affect the ability to attract tourists.
Talking about the challenges in Phu Quoc's plan, Mr. Mauro advised: "If we want to be successful in quickly attracting international visitors, we need to ensure the safety of their journey in the locality. I believe that there will soon be a "race" from many different destinations to prove that the risk of virus infection there remains low. However, it is also necessary to ensure that in case of infection, the locality will have medical facilities, international hospitals with safe procedures, qualified to treat and care for, and support foreign visitors. In addition, another difficult problem that can be predicted in the opening roadmap is human resources and a working environment with more fluctuations and risks than before."
“Hopefully, as soon as the situation is under control, domestic tourism will recover and Phu Quoc will be one of the main destinations for domestic tourists. For the international market, Phu Quoc needs to make efforts to build its brand, improve infrastructure and upgrade services to strengthen its competitive position,” Mr. Mauro added.
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Savills Hotels is a specialized division of Savills Group with in-depth experience in the field of Resort Real Estate Development and Investment Consulting. Not only understanding the market, Savills Hotels team also has many years of practical experience in the real estate market in the host countries.
Website: savills.com.vn
