Foreign arrivals in Phu Quoc triple in nine months

The number of foreign arrivals in Phu Quoc city, the southern province of Kien Giang nearly tripled to 470,538 in the first nine months of this year.

During the period, the city welcomed over 4.7 million visitors for sightseeing and leisure stay, accounting for 64.2% of the total arrivals in the province, up 15.5% annually. Its combined tourism revenue surpassed 12.2 trillion VND (508 million USD), making up over 84% of the province's total and showing a remarkable increase of 117.7%.

The inauguration of the Kiss bridge which has become a new symbol of Phu Quoc-Kien Giang, along with the Hon Thom cable car, has drawn a new stream of tourism to the pearl island.

The delectable "goi ca trich" (herring salad) and Phu Quoc's famous "ruou sim" (sim wine) have been recognised as some of the top 10 culinary treasures in Asia by the Asian Record Organisation. This recognition provides more opportunities to promote the impressive appeal of Phu Quoc tourism to travelers.

At the recent World Travel Awards for the Asia and Oceania, which is dubbed as the “Oscars of Tourism”, Phu Quoc was honoured as the Asia’s leading luxury island destination for 2023. In the accommodation category, Phu Quoc had five resorts named among the best in Asia.

Between now and the year’s end, the city will continue with concerted efforts to draw visitors and develop its tourism, including creating a pro-business environment, upgrading infrastructure and making thorough preparations to welcome tourists, especially during the Christmas, New Year and traditional New Year 2024 holidays.

It is planning to hold an international hot air balloon and paragliding festival, work closely with competent agencies to welcome Famtrip and Presstrip groups, both at home and abroad, that come to explore and experience the destination, and seek opportunities for tourism development.

Scuba diving in Phu Quoc (Photo: VNA)

Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Phu Quoc city Pham Van Nghiep said Phu Quoc currently boasts 274 tourism projects, or 86% of the total in the province. They cover an area of over 9,300 ha and have a total investment of over 367.7 trillion VND.

Phu Quoc is also home to numerous world-class tourism projects and entertainment complexes developed by major groups such as Vingroup, Sungroup, BIMgroup, CEOgroup, he added.