Travel businesses and agencies have proposed that the authorities in Kien Giang Province, southern Vietnam tighten control over unlicensed tours and unfair competition in order to develop tourism in its islands like Phu Quoc, Nam Du, and Hon Son in a more sustainable way.

They put forward the proposal at a conference reviewing the performance of the provincial tourism sector held on Friday.

Truong Cong Tam, chairman of the Professional Tour Guide Association in Phu Quoc City, said the island city witnessed a travel boom in 2022.

The volume of visitors to the island, however, declined at times in 2023, adding that a number of tourism-related problems popped up, such as unfair competition among tour service providers, unregistered foreign tour guides, and the recent arrival of speed boats and ships from other regions to the city to offer sea tours.

The association is responsible for managing some 45 percent of the total number of 200 tour guides in Phu Quoc.

To make the island city a worth-visiting destination in the years to come, the association suggested authorities tighten their control over tourism businesses, tour guides and tackle those that left a negative impact on the local tourism, Tam said.

Nguyen Luu Trung, vice-chairman of the administration of Kien Giang Province, southern Vietnam, asked the provincial Department of Tourism and the relevant agencies to remove obstacles hindering tourism growth in the islands of Phu Quoc, Hon Son, and Nam Du. Photo: Chi Cong / Tuoi Tre

Representatives of local tourism businesses at the conference also expressed their hope that Phu Quoc would launch more novel and interesting tourism products, adding that airlines would revise their business plans, airfares, and resume air services to Phu Quoc.

Tran Nguyen Ba, deputy head of the provincial Department of Culture and Sports, proposed that the provincial administration urge the completion of a tourism project to pave the way for the launch of diving tours to explore coral reefs.

Aside from Phu Quoc, Nam Du and Hon Son Islands off Kien Hai District are among the favorite destinations in this Mekong Delta province thanks to their pristine beauty, but more effective solutions need adopting to address issues arising in theses islands in recent years, according to Nguyen Thi Nghia, director of Thien Viet Tourism Company, located in the provincial capital city of Rach Gia.

Unlicensed and low-cost tours provided by local inhabitants and motorcycle taxi drivers have tarnished the local tourism image, Nghia elaborated.

These unlicensed tours also resulted in unfair competition among the providers and affected professional tour operators in the area, Nghia added and suggested authorities should take measures to timely settle these issues.

Nguyen Luu Trung, vice-chairman of the provincial administration, pledged that the province will ramp up efforts to tackle unlicensed tours and services, seek new tourism markets, and work with airlines to bring more visitors to Phu Quoc.

The official also revealed that some 8.5 million tourists visited Kien Giang this year.

As for Phu Quoc, it daily welcomed 11 international flights transporting around 3,000 visitors to explore the island city.

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