Vietnam to test reopening starting with Phu Quoc Island

Vietnam was one of the earliest countries to lockdown due to Covid-19, a strategy that had done it well until a massive outbreak in April, just like Thailand. And now, also like Thailand, they are looking to relaunch their tourism industry after close to two years of closures. Vietnam is now looking to reopen in late November, starting with the popular resort island of Phu Quoc.

The island aims to reopen to inoculated foreign tourists starting November 20 with charter flights bringing fully vaccinated international travelers to the tropical paradise. Phu Quoc is known for beautiful white sand beaches and clear blue waters on the coast with jungles and mountains inland.

Before the Covid-19 pandemic, the Vietnamese government was angling to turn the island in the Gulf of Thailand about 10 km off the coast of Cambodia into a beach-going tourist hot spot along the lines of Bali and Phuket. Phu Quoc had already been drawing massive crowds with figures from 2019 reporting US $18 billion generated by approximately 670,000 international travellers.

Like Thailand’s reopening, Vietnamese authorities hope to attract travellers from countries that are low risk for Covid-19 infections, citing parts of Europe, the Middle East, Northeast and Southeast Asia, North America, and Australia as their target market.

The reopening was originally planned for October, then postponed due to low local vaccination rates, with only about 20% of Vietnam’s 100 million people having received the full inoculation. But the Vietnam economy is suffering after closed borders and some of the strictest lockdowns in the world, with almost no commercial flights being allowed to land in Vietnam since the beginning months of last year.

So Vietnam is dipping its toe in the water with Phu Quoc, hoping to bring in a few vaccinated tourists next month and, if successful, slowly trickle in another 5,000 foreigners on charter flights between December and the end of March.

Vietnamese authorities hope that the experimental reopening of Phu Quoc Island will pave the way to reopening other popular tourist destinations like Ha Long Bay and Hoi An in the near future, but no timeline or details have been set yet.

SOURCE: Thai PBS World / The Thaiger

VISA AGENT

#Vietnam - Pirate Islands lurk in the shadows of famous peers

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Hai Tac (Pirate) Archipelago in southern Vietnam is not very well known, but it holds its own very comfortably as an outstandingly beautiful beach destination.  

 Hai Tac archipelago is not as prominently known as Phu Quoc or Cat Ba islands, but its pristine landscape has been drawing an increasing number of visitors in recent years.

The archipelago is located in Tien Hai Commune, Ha Tien District, in the Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang. From the pier in Ha Tien Town, it takes over an hour to reach Hai Tac, which includes 16 islands. A high-speed boat ticket costs VND100,000 ($4.3) one way.

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 In late 17th early 18th centuries, pirates used the archipelago as a base to attack merchant ships of other Southeast Asian countries, giving the archipelago its current name. The picture shows the model of a pirate ship on the Tre Van Islet.

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 Most boat owners taking visitors around the fishing village on the edge of Tre Van Islet. Tran Quy Thanh, a boat owner who has lived on the islet for 36 years, said each tour takes about four to six hours depending on visitors’ preferences.

"Tourists started coming more four years ago. They have helped improve lives here, because locals earn more by selling them food and providing them with accommodation. People here also get to hear many interesting, new things from the tourists," Thanh said.

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A string of hammocks on the beach of a small island next to Doc islet.

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   Some local shops where locals sell refreshment.

There is a concrete road that runs around the Hon Tre island. It takes two hours to cover it on foot.

Source - VN Express