Plastic waste reduction crucial for Phu Quoc's sustainable tourism development
- class2group6term225
- Mar 25, 2025
- 3 min read
Reducing plastic waste is crucial for Phu Quoc island to improve its environment quality and promote sustainable tourism, an expert said.
Nguyen My Quynh, project manager at World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Vietnam, said protecting the environment and improving the management of solid waste and ocean debris are the top important task of Phu Quoc to secure sustainable development, especially in tourism, a spearhead sector of Phu Quoc and Kien Giang Province as a whole.
Quynh said that it is necessary to mobilize resources to address hot issues related to the environment, while enhancing the responsibility of the local government, and calling for the joint efforts of organizations, individuals and the community, as well as businesses in the work.
She said that WWF Vietnam is implementing a project to reduce ocean debris in Vietnam, which is expected to benefit Phu Quoc. With this project, Phu Quoc aims to reduce 30% of plastic waste released to the environment by 2025 and no plastic waste in nature by 2030.
Quynh said that WWF Vietnam hopes that travel firms and tourism service suppliers in Phu Quoc will realise the need to strengthen their cooperation and connections in the supply chain to implement measures to reduce plastic waste.
This is also a way for businesses to enhance their competitiveness and win the support of customers amid a rising trend of responsible tourism.
Huynh Thanh Trong, head of the Phu Quoc Culture and Information Division, said that over the past four years, Phu Quoc has organized the annual Day for Phu Quoc environment, collecting about 816 tonnes of waste. In the first half of 2023, the island collected 66 tonnes of waste, he noted.
The local official said that Phu Quoc hopes for support from travel firms and tourists in turning the island into a zero-plastic-waste destination in the future.
Phu Quoc, formerly Vietnam's most popular paradise island, is watching tourism plummet as unaffordable air ticket prices and a lack of appeal to global travel take their toll, experts say.
Once one of the busiest tourism hotspots in southern Vietnam, the coastal nation's largest island Phu Quoc is losing its charm to increasingly expensive air tickets, increasingly worse tourism services and a severe overcharging plague, all of which keep conscientious travelers away from the location once known as "the pearl of Vietnam."
Statistics show that tourist visits to the island are down significantly from last year.
During the five-day Reunification Day holiday (April 39 - May 5), Phu Quoc received 112,000 visitor arrivals, down 11.5% over the same period last year, and revenues were also down 24.3% year-on-year.
During the four-day National Day (September 2) holiday, the number of Phu Quoc visitors continued to decrease to a meager total of 19,000 arrivals, down 40% from the same period last year. During one of Vietnam's largest, longest and most celebrated holidays, the island’s room capacity was an embarrassing 27%.
Le Thi Hai Chau, general secretary of the Phu Quoc Tourism Development Investment Association, said airline price stabilization policy is one of the most practical ways to lure tourists back to the island.
Chau said the association had received "positive signals" from an airline, but she declined to name the carrier.
She said airlines should balance their business policies to achieve "stable cooperation agreements."
She also emphasized that the government needs to play a key role, acting as a bridge for parties to move towards implementing such commitments.
During recent holidays, return air tickets from Hanoi to Phu Quoc cost up to VND8 million (US$326.83) per person, prompting many tourists to opt for overseas travel at similar or even cheaper prices.
Chau said the island was receiving less European and Chinese tourists than any point in recent memory.
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