Vietnam relaxes visas for Phu Quoc

Foreigners and Vietnamese nationals who travel on foreign passports can enjoy visa exemption for stays of up to 30 days on Phu Quoc Island effective 10 March.
Foreigners who enter Vietnam via an international airport or a sea port and wish to visit just Phu Quoc are eligible for visa-free entry.
The new policy is designed to support tourism to the island.
The visa waiver is part of order No. 80 signed by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, 27 December, to improve the island’s economic zone status.
Visa-free stays will be allowed for up to 30 days, but travellers must either enter through the island’s sea port or through its airport after transiting through Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City’s international airports.
A district of the southern Mekong Delta province, Phu Quoc Island has a total area of 574 square kilometres and a permanent population of approximately 85,000. In 2006, Phu Quoc was recognised as a World Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO.
Phu Quoc Island is forecast to welcome 2 to 3 million tourists a year by 2020, with international tourists accounting for 35% to 40%. By 2030 it should attract 5 to 7 million.
According to the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, around 548,000 tourists visited Phu Quoc January to October last year, up 27.8% year-on-year.

Sourced: ttgasia