Phu Quoc - a potential destination for billionaire super weddings

Possessing beautiful beaches, many 5-star resorts, unique architecture and diverse cuisine , Phu Quoc has ambitions to become the region's luxurious "wedding industry" center.

At the end of January, Phu Quoc was chosen as the venue for a super wedding of an Indian couple. Although not revealing specifics, VnExpress sources said the amount of money they spent was "huge" as they booked an entire 5-star resort and the Kiss of The Sea stage in the southern part of the island. The resort's highest room rate is up to 160 million VND per night, while the stage has 5,000 seats, and the daily entrance fee is 1 million VND per guest.

Sharing with VnExpress , Mr. Huynh Quang Hung, Chairman of Phu Quoc City People's Committee, said that the weddings of the super-rich and influential people will create a positive media effect on the tourism image of the pearl island. In the past year, the city also organized promotional programs in India, aiming to attract billionaires to come and hold weddings.

"Not only India, we aim to become a place to hold super weddings for billionaires from other countries," Mr. Hung said, revealing that there will be a super wedding of a UAE billionaire held in Phu Quoc right after Tet.

The Kiss of The Sea stage was booked out to host the Indian mega wedding on January 22. Photo: Sun Group — The Kiss of The Sea stage was booked out to host the Indian mega wedding on January 22. Photo: *Sun Group*

According to Mr. Hung, Phu Quoc meets the standards that billionaires set for weddings such as beautiful beaches, more than 30,000 hotel rooms, of which 17,000 rooms are 5-star standard accommodations. The pearl island also has a great advantage when many large corporations invest in the tourism and service sectors, especially in the two areas of the south and north of the island.

In Phu Quoc, billionaires can find unique structures in the world such as the Kissing Bridge. In addition, every night in the Mediterranean Town area, there is a fireworks display lasting 7-10 minutes. The southern part of the island also gathers many big names in the world hotel industry, promising to appear more high-class accommodation facilities. In the northern part of the island, Mr. Hung also highly appreciated many entertainment activities in theme parks, casinos, and golf courses.

"Billionaires will like and choose such locations," Mr. Hung said.

Mr. John Paul Woolley, manager of JW Marriott Phu Quoc Emerald Bay Resort & Spa, said that in the past three months, the resort successfully organized three "super weddings" for Indian couples.

To do this, they have an experienced planning team that continually hone their skills to create unique, immersive experiences that are tailored to the specific tastes and needs of their Indian clients. One of the key elements to a successful Indian “super wedding” is the cuisine. Indian guests love food and have diverse dietary requirements, requiring the chef to create a special, extensive menu.

The architecture and splendor of the resort are also factors that attract attention from this group of guests. In addition, the special location in Khem Beach area with clear blue water and white sand brings a romantic atmosphere to the wedding party.

"Phu Quoc is emerging as an attractive beach tourism destination, different from other international destinations such as Bali, Phuket and domestic cities such as Da Nang and Nha Trang," he said.

The resort representative emphasized that Phu Quoc's unique charm attracts couples and high-class families to organize weddings and other important events. The entertainment ecosystem in the southern part of the island plays a big role in attracting the super-rich Indians - who always want their weddings to be "grand".

According to Mr. John Woolley, the Indian wedding tourism market will grow strongly in 2024.

Inside JW Marriott Phu Quoc. Photo: CnTraveler — Inside JW Marriott Phu Quoc. Photo: *CnTraveler*

Mr. Hoang Anh, who organized two super weddings, said that these events bring in big profits for those who know how to take advantage of them. When deciding to organize a super wedding, the bride and groom's families often cover the entire resort, meals, and additional services for them and their guests. However, guests do not only spend money at the resort but often choose to travel and explore the island after the wedding ends.

"They really like Phu Quoc specialties and often buy them as gifts," said Mr. Hoang Anh, adding that the opportunity to reach customers is quite open because the number of customers is large, and one unit cannot "take care of them all."

However, Mr. Hoang Anh commented that Phu Quoc still has a lot to do to become the leading wedding venue for the super-rich . He revealed that in a billionaire wedding he once held, the bride and groom requested to rent a helicopter but could not meet the requirements due to many objective factors such as landing sites, procedures, and licenses.

Modern equipment and vintage cars are what many couples request, but Phu Quoc has very few service providers. Vintage cars for the wedding procession are often brought in from Ho Chi Minh City, increasing the cost. The extra money is "like a drop in the ocean" for this group of guests, but it may make them dissatisfied because Phu Quoc does not have enough professional services.

Mr. Vu Tien Van, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Adavigo, a tourism company specializing in the Phu Quoc market, also believes that the billionaire wedding market has great potential but has not yet been exploited in Vietnam. Currently, Phu Quoc and other cities have only just laid the first bricks, with many difficulties.

Mr. Van's unit is also researching this group of customers and realizes that there is still a lack of general knowledge and expertise. In fact, customers mainly work through professional wedding planning units from Thailand or India first. After that, these units connect with partners from Vietnam to coordinate the preparation. In the latest "super wedding", the couple hired a wedding planning unit from Thailand.

According to Mr. Van, to really penetrate this market, businesses need resources to connect and understand the market. In addition, there are not many super weddings taking place, so not many units dare to invest in organizing services such as luxury car rental and modern equipment.

Indian couple at their wedding on the evening of January 22 in Sunset Town. Photo: Sun Group — Indian couple at their wedding on the evening of January 22 in Sunset Town. Photo: *Sun Group*

"This story is like the chicken and the egg, it takes time to really develop," said Mr. Van.

However, Adavigo representatives emphasized that the Indian billionaire weddings will create a big impact for other Indian tourists to come to Phu Quoc. This is a potential customer group that the Vietnamese tourism industry is aiming for to avoid dependence on the Chinese market. Mr. Van's company also recognized the great potential of this type of customer when last year it organized to welcome many Indian groups to Vietnam for tourism, some groups up to 500 guests.

In 2022, The Economist , a global financial newspaper, said that weddings were one of the largest industries in India, behind only energy, banking and insurance. The reason is that Indians take this holiday seriously and are willing to spend "staggering" amounts of money, from $5,000 to $50,000 per day, depending on the scale. Some weddings last for weeks. Total spending on weddings in this country can reach $130 billion.

The Chairman of Phu Quoc City People's Committee said that it is necessary to further promote and advertise to attract international visitors to Phu Quoc. This requires support from large investors and special policies from ministries and branches for Phu Quoc because "local budget alone is not enough".

Tu Nguyen

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