Phu Quoc embarks on tourism plan

KIEN GIANG, 13 June 2012: The Mekong Delta province Kien Giang will develop Phu Quoc Island into an ecotourism centre according to the province’s tourism development  2020 master plan.

The Phu Quoc District People’s Committee chairman, Van Ha Phong, said about 150 tourism projects were being implemented on the island.

“Phu Quoc needs 5,000 hectares of land for tourism projects, and so far just 400 hectares have been assigned to tourism.”

One of the projects is the Phu Quoc International Airport that will be commissioned for service this December. By 2020, a 150 km network of roads will be constructed.

According to the plan, Phu Quoc Island should attract 1 to 1.2 million visitors, of which 35% will be international arrivals generating revenue of around US$209 million a year by 2015.

By 2020 the island could earn US$771 million from a forecasted 2 to 3 million tourists of which 40% would be from foreign visitors. Today, the island welcomes about 280,000 tourists annually.

Phu Quoc is the largest island located off the coast of Vietnam in the Gulf of Thailand, 12 km south of the Cambodia coast and 40 km west of Ha Tien the nearest mainland town in Vietnam.

Sourced: ttrweekly