Phu Quoc to pilot Russian visitor receiving programme from August

The event was announced by Ha Van Sieu, deputy director general of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT), during a recent working session held with the People's Committee of Kien Giang province to discuss the pilot implementation of vaccine passports aimed at welcoming international guests to Phu Quoc.

The province remains eager to deploy a closed tourism model through launching charter flights specifically for fully-vaccinated tourists.

The province has also proposed prioritising the allocation of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccines in order to inoculate the entire population of Phu Quoc in order to ensure that the province can welcome visitors by the end of August.

A representative from a company which specialises in welcoming Russian guests through chartered aircraft expressed his hope that the Government and relevant agencies will unveil the procedure to receive visitors as soon as possible so that the province can welcome the return of tourists by the winter.

Furthermore, the tourism business community has also proposed that the Government will resume the visa-exemption policy for international visitors, including Russian tourists moving forward.

At present, some travel firms have been active in working along some foreign partners to prepare for the implementation of vaccine passports, with a specific focus on unique tourism products such resort, island, golf, and health tourism models.

Tran The Dung, deputy director of the The He Tre (Young Generation) Tourist company in Ho Chi Minh City has advised Phu Quoc to thoroughly prepare a full range of accomodation services, improve facilities at tourism attractions, and entertainment sites to attract international visitors in the near future.

Dung therefore suggested piloting the scheme to welcome international visitors to Van Don in the northern province of Quang Ninh in the time ahead.