“A Dream Come True on Phu Quoc”

The Travel + Leisure article begins with a vibrant sunset on Phu Quoc, as the sun sets between the two branches of the Hon Cau (Kissing Bridge), shining like a gateway to the future. From the bridge, visitors can see Sunset Town with its fantastical European-style streets in pastel colors. “It reminds one of Amalfi (Italy) or a Disney World park. But it still retains the Vietnamese character,” describes the author of the Travel + Leisure article.

That scene is a dream come true in Phu Quoc, demonstrating the island’s extraordinary development over two decades, from a poor fishing island to one of Southeast Asia’s fastest-growing tourist destinations.

Hon Cau Bridge is inspired by Michelangelo’s painting “Creation of Adam”

From Travel + Leisure’s perspective, the island’s dream is further materialized by impressive figures. In 2024 alone, Phu Quoc welcomed nearly 6 million visitors, including almost 1 million international tourists, a 73% increase from the previous year. Today, Phu Quoc airport is bustling with international flights with direct routes from 8 countries. The island is also the only place in Vietnam with a superior visa policy, offering visa-free entry for up to 30 days to tourists worldwide.

Phu Quoc’s dream is most evident in its transformation from a remote place with few experiences to a destination where “any tourist can find joy,” especially in southern Phu Quoc – an area spearheaded by Sun Group, the conglomerate behind many iconic tourism projects in Vietnam. From a red hill of rocks and stones, it has become Sunset Town with many exciting tourism experiences. “Dozens of restaurants, the vibrant Vui Phet night market, the Hon Cau Bridge designed by Marco Casamonti inspired by Michelangelo’s Creation, the 8km cable car holding the record for connecting the main island to Hon Thom…”, Travel + Leisure comments that the experiences in Sunset Town are all very prominent.

“Everything feels like a European tour without needing a Schengen visa,” the American magazine notes.

Travel + Leisure compares Sunset Town to Disney World or Amalfi in Vietnam

The Future and Challenges of the Emerald Isle

While impressed by Phu Quoc's rapid development, Travel + Leisure magazine frankly points out the challenges and opportunities for the Emerald Isle in the future, especially as it has been chosen to host APEC 2027. Among them, natural conservation is the biggest challenge for the island.

“The tension between tourism development and sustainable development remains as fragile as the island's ecosystem. Coral bleaching, overexploitation, rampant construction, and waste and clean water treatment are all issues,” Travel + Leisure notes.

Phu Quoc possesses many pristine beaches among the most beautiful in the world that need to be preserved

In that context, Travel + Leisure acknowledges the initial efforts of large businesses in centralized wastewater treatment, protecting forests and seas, limiting illegal construction, reducing emissions, and improving the environmental landscape. In a specialized seminar on green tourism development with the island's government in June, a representative of Sun Group shared: “We believe that Phu Quoc can become a model for green tourism – zero-emission development – a ‘Singapore on an island’ of Vietnam,”.

The American magazine believes that the future of the Emerald Isle depends on how the island resolves a paradox: balancing “trying to please everyone” and “finding its own identity”. “It must balance development and preservation,” Travel + Leisure writes.

Tourists love experiences close to nature in Phu Quoc, such as “walking under the sea”

Continuing the dream from the beginning of the article, the sharp-witted writer of the American magazine mentions the Guinness record-breaking show - Kiss of the Sea at Sunset Town: “With a nightly laser, water, fire, and fireworks show – this show tells the story of the harmony between humans and nature, inspired by the worldview of the Vietnamese people”. The question posed by Travel + Leisure is how that dream of harmony can step out of the show to weave into reality, becoming the future of the island.