On July 17, as scheduled, tourists on Phu Quoc and Nam Du islands in Kien Giang province will return to the mainland. However, because all boats and ferries from the islands to the mainland and vice versa had to temporarily stop operating for the second consecutive day due to thunderstorms, gusts of wind of level 7-8, and rough seas, they were stuck on the islands.
Ms. Do Thi Thuy Mai (54 years old, from Bac Lieu province) said that taking advantage of the 2-day weekend, she took her family to Phu Quoc, planning to return to the mainland at noon on July 16 so that some members could go to work on Monday morning, but all plans were disrupted because the ferry stopped operating.
"For convenience, my family took a 7-seat car to Phu Quoc on the afternoon of July 14. We planned to return to Ha Tien at noon on July 16 to go home. But on the morning of July 16, ferry ticket agents said that all ferries had stopped operating due to bad weather. We had no choice but to wait until the ferry was allowed to operate before going home. All plans and work were disrupted," Ms. Mai shared.
Due to the impact of storm No. 1, all means of transporting passengers from the mainland to the islands and vice versa in Kien Giang province must temporarily suspend operations from July 16.
According to the reporter, on July 17, many tourists who had planned to return to the mainland before and those who had no plans to leave the island began to get impatient because of the increasingly heavy rain and thunderstorms. "With this weather, the possibility of the ferry operating again tomorrow is very low. If we switch to flying, it will incur a lot of costs. We cannot afford to wait, but we also encounter many difficulties because of unplanned meals and accommodation expenses," said Ms. Nguyen Thi Nga, a tourist from Ca Mau province.
On Nam Du Island (Kien Hai District), Mr. Tran Thien Binh (from Can Tho City) said that he and a group of more than a dozen people were stuck on the island because the boat stopped operating. "When we heard about the storm, we were afraid of being affected so we bought boat tickets to return home on July 16, but we couldn't make it because the boat stopped operating on the same day. Now we can only wait for the storm to pass so we can return to the mainland," Mr. Binh said.
Tourists stranded in Phu Quoc will receive many support policies from accommodation establishments.
On the other hand, many tourists have canceled their plans to travel to Phu Quoc due to the temporary suspension of sea transport due to bad weather, many accommodation establishments and tourism service businesses have suffered unexpected losses. "There was a group of 60 people who had booked and were scheduled to arrive today but had to cancel due to the weather," said Mr. Vu Duc Anh, owner of Vanda Hotel in Phu Quoc, regretfully.
Boats come ashore to avoid storm in Phu Quoc
Mr. Tran Quoc Khanh, Chairman of the Kien Giang Province Tourism Association, said that this summer, there were not many visitors to Phu Quoc, and most accommodation facilities were not operating at full capacity. Therefore, the situation of tourists being stuck in Phu Quoc was not as serious as in the rainy season of 2022.
Many accommodation establishments in Phu Quoc suffered losses due to guests canceling their plans to Phu Quoc at the last minute due to bad weather.
"The situation of tourists being stuck in Phu Quoc, staying longer than expected due to the suspension of ships and ferries is certain to happen, but there are no specific statistics yet. On the other hand, most tourists come to Phu Quoc by air, so it is not much affected. For tourists stuck due to force majeure, accommodation facilities and local authorities have support policies for each specific case. Particularly for the tourism industry, unfavorable weather causes difficulties to pile up, there are quite a lot of cases of tourists canceling tours and flights due to the weather," Mr. Khanh informed.
According to the Office of the Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention, Search and Rescue and Civil Defense of Kien Giang Province, on July 16 and 17, all ferry and boat routes from the mainland to Phu Quoc Island and vice versa were temporarily suspended due to bad weather. Sea traffic is likely to continue to be suspended if the weather does not improve.
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