Starting October 28, 2024, Air Astana will launch a new route from Almaty (Kazakhstan) to Phu Quoc (Vietnam), operating twice a week, increasing to four times a week from December, according to Astana TV.

Accordingly, flights will depart on Mondays and Wednesdays at 10:45 PM (local time) from Almaty and arrive in Phu Quoc at 8:15 AM. The return flights will depart on Tuesdays and Thursdays, taking off from Phu Quoc at 9:45 AM and arriving in Almaty at 3:50 PM (local time).

This is considered a positive sign for Phu Quoc, showing the increasing appeal of the island, recently recognized internationally as the second best island in the world by the World Travel Awards from the renowned travel magazine Travel + Leisure.

Phu Quoc was recently honored as the second most beautiful island in the world, after Maldives

Conversely, Vietnamese tourists also benefit from this direct flight, as Kazakhstan has granted visa-free entry to Vietnamese citizens since June 13, 2023. Tourists from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City can choose to travel to Phu Quoc and then fly to Almaty. Air Astana is expected to announce ticket prices starting from 18 million VND for a round-trip ticket.

This is not the first time a Central Asian country has opened a direct flight to Phu Quoc. Previously, the island witnessed an influx of tourists from Uzbekistan and Mongolia in late 2023 and early 2024, demonstrating the appeal of this destination to tourists from colder climates. Furthermore, Phu Quoc is the only place in Vietnam that offers visa-free entry for up to 30 days for all international tourists.

Foreign tourists enjoying the warm sunshine in Phu Quoc

“The visa exemption for Kazakhstani tourists to Vietnam, and the visa exemption for Phu Quoc for all international tourists is like a ticket to paradise. I love Phu Quoc because of the friendly people, delicious food, and especially the beautiful beaches, like a real paradise,” shared Ms. Tatyana, a tourist from Kazakhstan.

Phu Quoc is one of the unique places in the world with nightly fireworks

According to descriptions in Kazakhstani newspapers, Phu Quoc is a picturesque island. Astana TV channel commented that Phu Quoc is becoming famous with tourists worldwide thanks to its white sand beaches and clear water. According to experts, October-November is the ideal time to open a new flight route to Phu Quoc, as the island enters its most beautiful season of the year. The Booking accommodation platform at the end of 2023 also ranked the Emerald Island in the top 5 most romantic autumn destinations in Vietnam, thanks to its ideal mild weather in autumn and winter.

These days, Phu Quoc has almost no rain, the sun is shining brightly, the sea is calm, and the weather is mild, making it suitable for tourists from Central Asian countries to escape the cold in their home countries and find warm sunshine on the Emerald Island. Not only that, but the end of the year is also when Phu Quoc is preparing to launch a series of new tourism products, such as pool parties, EDM shows… in Hon Thom; a show combining jet skis & flyboards with traditional drums, lion dances, and giant kites at Cau Hon; a puppet show at the A Oi theater; the opening of a brewery… in the Sun Paradise Land complex, making the average stay of a tourist in Phu Quoc longer and longer.

Tourists swim looking out at Cau Hon in Hoang Hon Town

Therefore, many tourists from Russia and European countries choose to stay in Phu Quoc for a long time, up to more than a month. They choose to work remotely so that they can enjoy the sunshine of Phu Quoc every day. Along with that, the cost in Phu Quoc is also considered reasonable by tourists from these countries to be able to stay for a long time.

The Canadian travel news site – The Travel at the end of September 2023 also ranked Phu Quoc in the top 17 islands with the best travel costs in the world. According to The Travel, although the accommodation price in Phu Quoc may be slightly higher than destinations on the mainland, it is still much more reasonable than other famous islands in the world. Nation Story, from a country known for its cheap tourism costs like Thailand, was impressed that Phu Quoc has service prices half that of Thailand.

The Lonely Planet praised the experience of the world's longest three-cable car to Hon Thom Island as “worth the money, worth the value”

Many tourism experts report that Phu Quoc tourism is booming again with the arrival of many international flights. This year, international visitor arrivals to Phu Quoc are projected to double compared to the same period last year, mainly from South Korea, Taiwan, Russia, and Central Asian countries. In the first eight months of this year, Kien Giang province welcomed over 7.6 million visitors (reaching 83.3% of the annual plan), including over 665,000 international visitors (nearly 98% of the annual plan); total revenue reached over VND 18,000 billion (over 90% of the annual plan).