Phu Quoc's 20-year transformation journey

From a cow blocking the runway to a resort paradise

"I used to live in Vietnam and run humanitarian programs here. When I visited Phu Quoc more than a decade ago, my plane had to circle the airport three times to chase free-roaming cows off the runway. The island at that time only had three hotels, which was of course "okay". But a few weeks ago, my wife and I took a helicopter flight from Ho Chi Minh City to Phu Quoc, a taxi was waiting and took us along the ancient town of Duong Dong, through a narrow street with many restaurants with courtyards and straight to La Veranda, the first 5-star resort in Phu Quoc", said Chuck Searcy, a former US soldier, in an article in the LA Times in 2015, which is proof of the story of Phu Quoc's miraculous development journey.

An Thoi Port nearly 2 decades ago

When Mr. Searcy first set foot on Phu Quoc, the island captivated many travelers with its pristine, beautiful beaches such as Khem Beach, Sao Beach, Thom Beach... However, this was still just a destination for sightseeing, swimming, and eating seafood for at most 1-2 days and then returning. Even many roads in Duong Dong Town at that time were still red with mud. People's lives were still too hard, only relying on the sea to make a living, today on Nam Beach, tomorrow on Chuong Beach, in makeshift houses by the sea. Poor fishing villages like An Thoi at that time did not have electricity.

By the time the American veteran returned and "there were no more cows blocking the runway", tourists to Phu Quoc could take a car from the Bai Vong high-speed ferry terminal (Ham Ninh commune) or Phu Quoc international airport (Duong To commune) to the center of the island district, Duong Dong town, or up to the communes of Cua Duong, Cua Can, Bai Thom, Ganh Dau in the north of the island and then down to Duong To commune, An Thoi town in the south. All are pristine asphalt roads.

Nearly 10 years after Searcy's second visit, Phu Quoc has transformed once again, completely erasing the image of a poor, shabby "fishing village", to reach a new position: Asia's luxury resort paradise. From having no high-end hotels or resorts, by early 2017, Phu Quoc had the " World's Most Luxurious New Resort" JW Marriott Phu Quoc Emerald Bay designed by "resort king" Bill Bensley on the South of the island, putting the island on the list of destinations for billionaires and world-famous stars.

From a quiet location, the South Island has entered an unprecedented "era" of luxury tourism with a series of high-class projects and products such as the super luxury two-sided beach resort Premier Village Phu Quoc Resort in Ong Doi Cape; the high-class experience complex Sun World Hon Thom Nature Park with the longest cable car line in the world; Kiss Bridge Phu Quoc causing a global media fever... Most recently, the first night market in the world "dares" to organize fireworks every night to light up the sparkling Sunset Town with thousands of experiences.

"I certainly wouldn't recognize Phu Quoc anymore," Searcy said, constantly amazed as he watched the images of the world-class entertainment and resort areas covering the "Pearl Island".

Phu Quoc has transformed into an island possessing the most classy constructions in the world.

"It's a world of difference" is also what Doan Anh Dung said when he recalled the time he first came to Phu Quoc in 2019. "My first impression was traveling by ATR 72 propeller plane landing at the old Duong Dong airport. Phu Quoc at that time had wild but very beautiful tourist attractions such as Sao beach, Khem beach with blue sea and white sand in the South of the island, even Ba Keo beach with yellow sand in Duong Dong, although small, was also very impressive. However, the tourism infrastructure was very modest.

Although Tran Hung Dao Street along Bai Dai is the center, it only has a few names such as Saigon - Phu Quoc Hotel, Hoa Binh , Thien Hai Son... the rest are mainly motels, small accommodation establishments, cheap restaurants, grocery stores. Places further from the center such as Bai Truong in the south, or the routes to the North of the island are mainly red soil and forest. Even Tran Hung Dao Street still has many sections that are not completely paved. The alleys are full of rocks, tree roots, and tall reeds, so people and tourists fall down all the time," Mr. Dung recalled.

Four years later, Mr. Dung's family moved to Phu Quoc and started opening a homestay to do tourism business. "Now Phu Quoc has everything, from electricity and road infrastructure to internet, as fast as the mainland. The resorts and entertainment areas are super luxurious and classy. International tourists are everywhere. Every few days, Phu Quoc is praised as the most beautiful and classy place in the world. International tourists are also amazed with experiences that can be found nowhere else, such as going to the market to watch fireworks. It's unbelievable that everything can change so miraculously in just over ten years," Mr. Doan Anh Dung exclaimed.

Miraculous transformation thanks to the mechanism

The report of the People's Committee of Kien Giang province affirmed that Decision No. 178/2004 of the Prime Minister played a pioneering role, paving the way and shaping the development direction of the "Pearl Island" Phu Quoc. If in previous years, Phu Quoc was only a district-level administrative unit with agricultural economy playing a key role, a strange name for domestic and international tourism, now the island has risen to become one of the tourist attractions of regional and international stature.

Phu Quoc's economy is developed in the direction of trade and services, with tourism as the core and main focus. In 2022, the city's total budget revenue reached 5,079 billion VND, an increase of 112.83 times compared to 2004, accounting for over 69% of Kien Giang province's budget revenue. In 2023, the estimated total budget revenue of Phu Quoc city reached 7,813 billion VND, an increase of over 2,700 billion VND compared to 2022 and accounting for 51.7% of Kien Giang province's total budget revenue. Notably, in the past 5 years, Phu Quoc city has not only been self-sufficient in budget revenue but also regulated the budget of Kien Giang province.

Closely following the development journey of Phu Quoc, Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Dinh Thien commented that over the past two decades, Phu Quoc has been the coordinate of change that has created the strongest difference and class in Vietnam, one of the main driving forces being given a special "mechanism shirt".

Mr. Thien cited that Phu Quoc used to be just a deserted island isolated from the rest of the country. Since 2004, when Decision 178 was issued, the vision for Phu Quoc officially changed. Although it was just an island district, Phu Quoc had an international airport. At that time in Vietnam, no district had an international airport, and it was constantly expanding its flight network to many countries, connecting directly to the world. Power cables were also pulled to the island. This was an unusual event. After that, Phu Quoc was recognized as the first island city in Vietnam. Thanks to that, the island had more mechanisms, more attention, and that meant a very different development vision for Phu Quoc, unlike any other locality.

"The State has given Phu Quoc an institution, given Phu Quoc a vision and development orientation that allows Phu Quoc to have the conditions to organize a completely new development process worthy of its potential and strengths. This driving force has paved the way for "eagle" businesses from all over to flock to. This is the second driving force that helps Phu Quoc reach the world-class level as it is today," Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Dinh Thien commented.

On October 5, 2004, the Prime Minister issued Decision No. 178/2004/QD-TTg approving the overall development project of Phu Quoc Island, Kien Giang Province until 2010 and vision to 2020. The project aims to turn Phu Quoc into "a center of marine-island ecotourism; a center of exchange, trade, and high-quality services of the country, region, and the world; with an important position in terms of security and defense". To date, the project has been implemented for 20 years.

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