Kien Giang Province, located in Vietnam's Mekong Delta, is expected to welcome around 1,000 Chinese visitors by air per week, while the province still lacks tourism staff fluent in Chinese. According to Nguyen Van Sau, deputy director of the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, China Southern Airlines has put its non-stop, two-way service from Guangzhou to Phu Quoc Island into operation since July 6, with three flights a week on Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday. Thus, the number of Chinese tourists to the island is projected to reach around 1,000 per week, Sau said, adding that the province currently lacks tourism staff and tour guides who can speak fluent Chinese. “We have taken the problem into consideration after a number of illegal Chinese tour guides have recently tried to dodge rules in some Vietnamese areas,” Sau explained. The deputy director also stated that local tour providers have not announced their plan to pick up Chinese visitors to Phu Quoc yet. In the last decade, a number of investment projects have changed Phu Quoc from a ‘rough diamond’ into a ‘polished pearl,’ and a magnet for major domestic and international investors, according to Bui Ngoc Suong, head of the Vietnam Tourism Property Association. To date, 164 projects, collectively worth VND183.08 trillion (US$8.17 billion), have been licensed on the island, Suong said. Twenty-one of these are 100 percent foreign invested, he added. Among them are 24 completed projects, including Phu Quoc International Airport, the Vinpearl Land Phu Quoc resort complex, and the semi-wildlife park Safari Phu Quoc.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!