American newspaper assesses challenges and opportunities of Phu Quoc

In the article “Phu Quoc: Dream and Future” in a special issue of the world’s leading travel magazine from the US - Travel + Leisure, the Pearl Island is said to have undergone a spectacular transformation - from a little-known place to one of the fastest-growing destinations in Southeast Asia, bringing many challenges as well as great opportunities.

“There is a dream living on Phu Quoc”

The Travel + Leisure article begins with a rosy sunset moment in Phu Quoc, when the sun gradually sets between the two arms of the Kissing Bridge, shining like a gateway to the future. From the bridge, visitors can see Sunset Town with its fantasy European streets in pastel colors. “This place reminds people of Amalfi (Italy) or a Disney World park. But it still has the colors of Vietnam,” the author of the article on Travel + Leisure describes.

That scene is a dream come true in Phu Quoc, a testament to the island's phenomenal growth in two decades, from a poor fishing island to one of Southeast Asia's fastest-growing tourist destinations.

The Proposal was inspired by Michelangelo's painting “Creation of Adam”.

From the perspective of Travel + Leisure, the dream of the Pearl Island is also realized by telling numbers. In 2024 alone, Phu Quoc welcomed nearly 6 million visitors, of which nearly 1 million were international visitors, an increase of 73% compared to the previous year. Today, Phu Quoc airport is bustling with international flights with direct flights from 8 countries. The island is also the only place in Vietnam with a preferential visa policy of visa exemption for up to 30 days for tourists around the world .

The dream of Phu Quoc is most evident when from a deserted place with few experiences, the island has now become a destination where "any tourist can find joy", especially in the south of Phu Quoc Island - where Sun Group - the group behind many iconic tourism projects in Vietnam leads. From a red hill with only gravel and rocks, this place has become Sunset Town with many attractive tourist experiences. "Dozens of restaurants, the vibrant Vui Phet night market, the Kissing Bridge designed by Marco Casamonti inspired by Michelangelo's Genesis, the record-breaking 8km cable car connecting the big island to Hon Thom...", Travel + Leisure commented that the experiences at Sunset Town are all outstanding.

“It all feels like traveling to Europe without a Schengen visa,” the American magazine commented.

Travel + Leisure compares Sunset Town to the Disney World or Amalfi of Vietnam.

The future and challenges of Pearl Island

Although impressed with Phu Quoc's development speed, Travel + Leisure magazine also frankly pointed out the challenges and opportunities for the Pearl Island in the future, especially when it was chosen to host APEC 2027. In particular, nature conservation is the biggest challenge for the island.

“The tension between tourism and sustainable development remains as fragile as the island’s ecosystem. Coral bleaching, overfishing, massive construction, and the handling of waste and clean water are all issues,” Travel + Leisure notes.

Phu Quoc has many pristine beaches that are among the most beautiful in the world and need to be preserved. Photo: Fatel Belek

In that context, Travel + Leisure recognized the initial efforts of large enterprises in centralized wastewater treatment, forest and sea protection, limiting illegal construction, reducing emissions and improving the environmental landscape. In a workshop on green tourism development with the island government last June, a representative of Sun Group shared: “We believe that Phu Quoc can absolutely become a model of green tourism – zero-emission development – ​​a ‘Singapore on the island’ of Vietnam.”

The American magazine believes that the future of the Pearl Island depends on how the island resolves a paradox: balancing between “trying to please everyone” and “finding its own identity”. “There must be a balance between development and preservation”, Travel + Leisure writes.

Tourists love the close-to-nature experiences in Phu Quoc, such as “walking under the sea”.

Continuing the dream at the beginning of the article, the sharp writer of the American magazine mentioned the Guinness record-breaking show - Kiss of the Sea at Sunset Town: "With laser, water, fire and fireworks performances every night - this show tells the story of harmony between humans and nature, inspired by the Vietnamese cosmology". The question raised by Travel + Leisure is how the dream of that harmony can come out on the show to weave into reality, becoming the future of the island.

Tung Duong

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/bao-my-nhan-dinh-thach-thuc-va-co-hoi-cua-phu-quoc-255618.htm