Phu Quoc to welcome international tourists in October

Phu Quoc to welcome international tourists in October

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is collecting comments from relevant ministries about the pilot plan and process to welcome international tourists to Phu Quoc. According to the draft, Vietnam plans to welcome visitors from October. The pilot plan will last for six months with two phases.

In the first three months, Phu Quoc will welcome 2-3,000 guests a month under the pilot, who will arrive through charter flights. The island will only serve guests within limitedlocations.

After three months, if the necessary requirements are met, Phuc Quoc will welcome up to 5-10,000 guests per month via commercial flights. Services and locations welcoming international tourists will be expanded on the island.

It is expected that Phu Quoc will welcome 25-40,000 international tourists in the six-month pilot period.

Vietnam will welcome tourists from countries that have well contained the pandemic and implement vaccination to achieve herd immunity such as China, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, the US, Germany, the UK, Russia, and France.

Guests are allowed to enter the country provided that they have a certificate of full vaccination against COVID-19 recognised by a competent authority in Vietnam. Two injection jabs need to be administered at least 14 days and no more than 12 months before the time of entry. Travelers must also have a negative SARS-CoV-2 PCR test acquired no more than 72 hours prior to departure.

Tourists to Phu Quoc will also have to arrive as a registered participant of a tour programme by a travel agency that is eligible to welcome guests.

Under the plan, Kien Giang needs to vaccinate at least 70 per cent of the population and workers in Phu Quoc from July to September 2021 to achieve herd immunity. At the same time, the local authority needs to prepare plans for epidemic prevention and handling potential medical emergencies.