Vietnam plans to open Phu Quoc island to vaccinated tourists next month 

As Vietnam looks to boost the country’s tourism industry after almost two years of closure, the government has announced its plans to reopen the resort island of Phu Quoc to vaccinated international visitors in late November.

According to the government, the tropical island, which lies just a one-hour flight from Ho Chi Minh City and around 10 kilometers off Cambodia in the Gulf of Thailand, will be open to international travelers with a valid vaccine passport and a negative covid-19 test from 20 November. Vietnam recently announced that the country will temporarily recognize vaccination certificates or vaccine passports of 72 countries and territories worldwide including Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Finland,

Malay Mail writes that in 2019, Phu Quoc attracted around 670,000 visitors and earned more than US$18 billion from international arrivals. Phu Quoc is known for beautiful white sand beaches and clear blue waters on the coast with jungles and mountains inland and Vietnamese authorities have hoped to turn the island into a tourist mecca similar to Phuket or Bali. 

According to authorities, Phu Quoc aims to receive up to 5000 international arrivals between December and March from places with “a high safety record on Covid-19 prevention, like some parts of Europe, the Middle East, North-East Asia, Southeast Asia, North America, and Australia.

State media reports that authorities are also working to open popular destinations such as Unesco world heritage site Ha Long Bay and the ancient town of Hoi An to foreign travelers in November, but no clear plan has been outlined yet, Malay Mail writes.

About Gregers Møller

Editor-in-Chief • ScandAsia Publishing Co., Ltd. • Bangkok, Thailand

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