The confirmation was made by Director of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) Nguyen Trung Khanh on October 9.
He said that Vietnam is preparing to pilot the plan to welcome foreign tourists to Phu Quoc Island in Kien Giang Province, which is responsible for working with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and relevant agencies to create a detailed plan.
According to Khanh, the date of opening Phu Quoc to international tourism will depend on the COVID-19 control situation, the vaccination rate, and the preparations of the island.
He added that Kien Giang Province is making preparations concerning healthcare, infrastructure, workforce and reception procedures, and seeking opinions of the parties concerned on the pilot plan.
After assessing the plan to welcome international tourists in Phu Quoc, Vietnam will consider whether to expand it to other eligible destinations.
Recently some major tourism centres such as Khanh Hoa, Quang Nam and Da Nang have expressed their wish to open to international travellers after the pilot project in Phu Quoc is successful.
Khanh stated that the opening roadmap will be determined based on the developments of the pandemic, with the goal of ensuring the highest level of safety for the community.
Such a spirit was also affirmed at a recent meeting between the VNAT, key tourism localities, the Foreign Ministries and Vietnamese diplomatic missions, in which the participants agreed that safety is the prerequisite for restarting tourism in the new normal.
