Phu Quoc named among most affordable tropical destinations

Phu Quoc island in the Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang has been honoured by US magazine Travel+Leisure as one of the 10 most affordable tropical destinations to visit around the world, while the Republic of Korea (RoK)’s Dailian journal has described the “pearl island” as the most popular healing destination.

Phu Quoc – one of most affordable tropical destinations

Travel+Leisure, a prestigious travel magazine of the US with more than 16 million readers, placed Phu Quoc alongside Mérida, the capital city of Mexico’s Yucatan state, Bali of Indonesia, and Negril in Jamaica.

According to the magazine, getting to Phu Quoc does require connecting flights. But “once you arrive at this slice of paradise, it’s an incredible value,” it said.

The accommodation cost in Phu Quoc is not expensive, as the island offers both luxury resorts and affordable hotels, making it easy for visitors to find a place to stay that suits their budget and preferences.

Phu Quoc also has countless attractive entertainment activities, from exploring the world's most beautiful beaches at Bai Sao and Bai Kem to visiting Phu Quoc National Park, home to hundreds of species of rare animals and plants in impressive tropical ecosystems.

One of the outstanding strengths of Phu Quoc that distinguishes it from others is that the island has the super attractive entertainment complexes with extremely reasonable costs, giving visitors experiences all week long without getting bored. Typical examples include Hoang Hon town with a series of attractive destinations such as Cau Hon (Kissing Bridge) - a new tourism symbol praised by CNN, Vui Phet beach night market, A Oi puppet theatre, and Kiss of The Sea - the world's leading multimedia art show combined with a nightly fireworks show.

To optimise visitors’ vacations, Sun Group is offering attractive programmes and incentives for tourists staying at Bai Kem and enjoying entertainments in Hoang Hon town. Specifically, tickets for Kiss of The Sea show is being included in the vacation for tourists staying at resorts such as JW Marriott Phu Quoc Emerald Bay, Premier Residences Phu Quoc Emerald Bay, Premier Village Phu Quoc Resort, New World Phu Quoc Resort, and La Festa Phu Quoc Curio Collection by Hilton.

Tourists who buy tickets to experience Sun World Hon Thom will receive tickets to visit the Kissing Bridge.

Phu Quoc – Ideal place of international tourists

Dailian – the RoK’s economic journal, identifies Phu Quoc as one of the most typical "healing" destinations in Southeast Asia, with the leading growth rate in the first four months of the year, surpassing Chiang Mai or Bali. It also clarified that Phu Quoc is emerging as a long-term stay destination, as it is the only place in Vietnam that allows 30-day visa exemption for international visitors.

Earlier, Korean travel expert Lee Chae-hyeon explained in AsiaA the reasons why Phu Quoc is popular among the Korean visitors. He said that the island has white sand, blue sea, warm tropical climate all year round, with average temperature of 27 degrees Celsius, always pleasing to tourists. In just five hours, Korean tourists can fly from winter to summer when arriving in Phu Quoc, the expert wrote.

In the first quarter of 2024, Phu Quoc welcomed more than 500,000 international arrivals, a surge of 200% compared to the same period last year. Of the total, 221,657 were Korean, up 165% year on year. Meanwhile, the number of tourist from Taiwan (China) rocketed by 1,100% year on year to 82,135 visitors.

Currently, the RoK’s airlines such as Jeju Air, Korean Air, and Jin Air have been operating direct flights to the island. Taiwanese low-cost airline Tiger Air has also launched a new direct route between Taoyuan and Phu Quoc. This is a favorable condition for the island to attract more tourists from these markets.

Applying special policies, Phu Quoc has seen great advantages from 30-day visa exemption for tourists.

At a conference to announce the planning of Phu Quoc until 2040, experts predicted that Phu Quoc can attract 14.6 million visitors in the future. The vision of the island city is to become a must-visit destination capable of competing with major tourist hubs in Asia such as Phuket and Bali. The growth rate of Phu Quoc tourism has proved the beauty and attractiveness of the pearl island and a positive signal for the tourism sector of Vietnam, they commented.

TB (according to VNA)