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According to Joan, who has spent
years working as general manager at
the 4-star Chen Sea Resort, considering
Phu Quoc’s MICE infrastructure, it re-
ally only has the ability to service small
conventions, incentives and corporate
meetings. She added that in terms of
exhibitions and trade shows, further
investment is sorely needed.
For Pham Ha, CEO of Luxury Travel,
Phu Quoc is not an ideal spot for MICE
due its shortage of facilities: “In the
peak season especially, there is always
a lack of high quality accommodation.
Most business centres, conference and
meeting spaces are not up to interna-
tional standards, while the quality and
quantity of staff is low. Compounding
all this, transportation is limited and
inconvenient for business groups. For
these reasons, we prefer to send clients
to Phu Quoc for leisure as it really is a
paradise for this form of tourism.”
Olivier Petit, general manager of
Chen Sea Resort & Spa Phu Quoc, ech-
oed Ha’s sentiments: “Sometimes we
have corporate clients, but it’s not really
our main target market. MICE is a part
of the mix, but I prefer the concepts of
eco and upscale luxury. In my opinion,
Phu Quoc may develop MICE tourism,
but it won’t be possible for it to com-
pete seriously with leisure.”
LOOKING AHEAD
Despite the prevalence of such
views among industry insiders, the au-
thorities are touting Phu Quoc as a
promising MICE destination and are lay-
ing grand plans to develop it. By 2020,
the government is planning to increase
tourist numbers to 2 million annually,
with MICE making up a substantial pro-
portion.
The new international airport has
already opened and many hotel pro-
jects are in the works. Nevertheless,
many issues remain outstanding and
the current economic crisis won’t help
accelerate MICE growth.
Factors that will help include the
new flights laid on by low-cost air car-
rier, VietJetAir, with a daily service from
Ho Chi Minh City. In addition, Vietnam
Airlines now runs five weekly flights
from Hanoi alongside its daily flight
to Can Tho and four weekly flights to
Rach Gia.
Phu Quoc’s existing seaport facili-
ties will also be upgraded and expanded
in the near future. The seaport at Duong
Dong will be upgraded to accommo-
date international and local passenger
ships. The port at Dat Do Cape will also
accommodate international ships and
become a cargo port. Meanwhile, Dam
Bay port will be developed into a pas-
senger and cargo port and An Thoi port
will provide a wharf for smaller coastal
passenger ships and 2000 person ca-
pacity cruisers.
The island has now officially been
upgraded to city status. “Phu Quoc is-
land district met all the criteria to be
upgraded into a city,” said Lam Minh
Thanh, chairman of the Phu Quoc dis-
trict People’s Committee. According to
him, since the Prime Minister approved
an overall development scheme for Phu
Quoc in 2004, the area has seen rapid
development, with an average annual
economic growth of 22 per cent.
Le Van Thi, chairman of the Kien
Giang People’s Committee, said GDP per
capita rose to VND50 million ($2,480)
in 2012, another enormous increase
over 2004. More tourists also headed
to Phu Quoc, with the number of visi-
tors increasing by about 13 per cent
per year.
Phu Quoc appears to be a gold
mine for investors in hotels, private vil-
las, apartments, restaurants, spas, golf
courses, shopping complexes and even
offices. One major current project is the
100 hectare casino complex in the north
of the island. A master plan has also
been approved for the development of
the longest beach and a new city will
soon appear. Elsewhere, hills overlook-
ing the sea have been earmarked for the
construction of luxury villas.
To further encourage growth,
Nguyen Quang Phong, deputy manager
of the Southwest Steering Board, has
suggested the free visa for foreigners
be extended from 15 days to 30. He
also wants overseas Vietnamese to be
granted permission to buy houses on
the island and a range of special sup-
port policies to be enacted to allow
more investors.
MICE TOURISM