Phu Quoc island to be re-opened for foreign tourists in October

Hanoi (VNA) - The Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang is preparing for a pilot plan on welcoming international tourists with vaccine passports to its Phu Quoc resort island for six months from October in a bid to revive its tourism industry.

According to a draft pilot scheme, the plan targets foreign tourists who have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or those with certificates of total recovery from COVID-19 recognised by an authorised agency in Vietnam.

Eligible tourists should be given their second shots at least 14 days and no more than 12 months before their entry. For those who have recovered from COVID-19, the time from hospital discharge to their entry date must not exceed 12 months. Travelers will be requested for a RT-PCR test within 72 hours prior to their departure, and certified negative for COVID-19 in English by authorities of the country that conduct the test. The scheme will be applied for visitors who have registered to join package tours of travel agencies.

General Director of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) Nguyen Trung Khanh said Phu Quoc needs to speed up the vaccination for its residents, and those that will directly engage in welcoming and serving holiday makers.

Attention should be paid to developing a specific plan for the pilot programme in regard of medical regulations, immigration procedures, procedures to welcome and serve tourists at accommodation establishments, tourist attractions, and plans for handling medical incidents.

He also underlined the necessity for the local authority to organise a practical survey, select suitable businesses and accommodation establishments for implementing the plan in order to ensure safety criteria.

Youths explore Phu Quoc island. (Photo: VietnamPlus)

Communication campaigns should be promoted to attract international visitors, he added.

Khanh also proposed the establishment of a steering committee, an organizing board or a working group including representatives of ministries, sectors and the provinces to direct the implementation of the plan.

Phu Quoc is one of the eight "green zone" districts and cities of Kien Giang province. It has to date recorded five COVID-19 infections which have been successfully treated.

Phu Quoc is a destination with diverse ecosystem (Photo: VietnamPlus)

Under the draft plan, Kien Giang needs to prepare human resources, materials, medical equipment and supplies, strengthen testing capacity, ensure safety plans for disease prevention and settlement of incidents.

Previously, the Government Office sent a document to the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, ordering "rapid" study and piloting of a ‘vaccine passport’ mechanism for foreign arrivals to some popular tourism destinations where COVID-19 outbreaks could be contained such as Phu Quoc island.

At a regular meeting of the Government on September 6, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh directed the implementation of the pilot plan, aiming to attract between 2-3 million foreign arrivals to the island this year.

A visitor is enjoying the beauty of Phu Quoc island (Photo: VietnamPlus)

Travel firms nervous

Many travel firms have expressed their concern over the pilot plan’s feasibility and efficiency since they do not have enough time to work with their partners as well as promote communication work.

“Our customers said they would not come if the procedures are complex and they must undergo a long quarantine. Meanwhile, travel in Europe is much easier”, said Chairman of Lux Group Pham Ha.

Representatives of several other travel firms said it is hard for many travel companies to participate in the pilot programme as they have to show that they are able to welcome 30,000 visitors per year.

According to the firms, only those receiving Chinese customers can meet the requirement. Meanwhile, according to the pilot programme, Phu Quoc island is only open to visitors from countries with high safety in COVID-19 prevention and control in regions such as Europe, the US, the Middle East and Australia.

All quarters hope the tourism sector will recover as soon as possible. (Photo: VietnamPlus)

Additionally, Phu Quoc is allowed to reopen its tourism only after more than 90 percent of locals are vaccinated which helps the island achieve immunity herd. To date, over 35 percent of the island’s population have received the first shots, and only six percent got the second, if there are not enough vaccines for the island in the next two weeks, there is a huge workload for the island ahead.

Despite the detailed pilot plan from the tourism sector, competent authorities still need to take more efforts to close the loopholes for tourism service providers./.