Vietnam’s tourism revenue took a great plunge since the pandemic began. In 2019, the country received 18 million foreign arrivals. Last year, however, the arrivals dropped to 3.8 million. Vietnam is now looking to revive its tourism industry by reopening safer destinations within the country. According to a statement issued by the government on 9 Sep 2021, Vietnam will undergo a six-month reopening trial which will begin with the beach-studded island of Phu Quoc.
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Phu Quoc reopening to fully vaccinated travellers
Before the announcement, Vietnam had only been receiving returning citizens and foreigners travelling on business. But due to the need to revive the country’s economy, Vietnam has come up with the current plan.
The government states that only fully vaccinated travellers with a negative coronavirus test will be permitted to travel to Phu Quoc, via chartered or commercial flights. But before this, the Vietnamese government plans to fully vaccinate all Phu Quoc residents. The good news is that the island hasn’t reported any community infections and has sufficient quarantine and treatment facilities on standby should the need arise.
Vietnam was able to contain the COVID-19 outbreak for the most part until the Delta variant brought about a spike in local cases. That said, Ho Chi Minh City was reportedly the epicentre of this outbreak. If there are no delays in the vaccination rollout in the island of Phu Quoc, foreign tourists will be welcomed as early as October 2021.
As of writing, Vietnam has seen about 576,000 cases with 14,470 deaths.
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Phu Quoc is known for its white beaches, agriculture, and several five-star resorts. If the Phu Quoc reopening all goes according to plan, would you be willing to travel there for a beach getaway?
News sourced from CNN Travel. Featured image credit: allphotobangkok | Pixabay