Phu Quoc Island set for Tet travel rush

Nguyen Nguyet Van Khanh, deputy marketing head of Vietravel, said 2,000 people have booked to travel to Phu Quoc, or 40 percent of all bookings for her company's tours during Tet, or Lunar New Year.

Tran Thi Bao Thu, director of marketing and communications at Fiditour, said this year her company's tours to Phu Quoc are nearly fully booked with people preferring to travel to the south where the Covid-19 pandemic is well under control.

Phu Quoc does not require visitors to quarantine but only undergo rapid tests at their place of stay.

Nguyen Duc Viet, CEO of Hanoi tour operator WE Travel, said customers traveling to Phu Quoc account for 60 percent of all Tet bookings.

Nguyen Vu Khac Huy, vice chairman of the Kien Giang Province Tourism Association, said four- and five-star hotels in Phu Quoc are fully booked and only two- and three-star hotels and homestay accommodation have vacancies.

The island, Vietnam's largest, has around 25,000 rooms, including over 10,000 five-star rooms.

Airlines have increased the number of flights from Hanoi and HCMC to Phu Quoc, and between January 19 and February 16 there are 27 daily flights each from the two cities.

All residents and tourism staff on the island are fully vaccinated.