Phú Quốc drew more than 1.17 million international visitors in the first five months of 2026, a 51% increase from a year earlier and a pace that left the island with nearly 99% of all foreign arrivals to An Giang province. The surge has pushed the island to the center of the province's tourism strategy just as officials prepare for the APEC 2027 High-Level Conference there.
Bùi Quốc Thái called Phú Quốc the province's “đầu tàu,” or leading engine, for carrying An Giang's image abroad, and the numbers back him up. In the same five-month stretch, An Giang welcomed more than 13.3 million tourists and earned about 33,169 billion đồng in tourism revenue, reaching 53.2% of its annual arrivals plan and nearly 50% of its revenue target. For a province trying to turn visitor growth into lasting economic weight, Phú Quốc is doing most of the work.
The island's momentum has come from several directions at once. Upgrades at Phú Quốc International Airport, direct flights from South Korea, China, Singapore and Thailand, and a 30-day visa exemption have made the island easier to reach. It has also been repeatedly honored among global trending destinations in 2026 and has hosted a stream of international cultural and sports events, giving it a visibility that few Vietnamese destinations can match.
That growth, however, is running ahead of the broader provincial picture. Tourism planners want Phú Quốc built into a high-quality international-scale ecotourism center, but that requires provincial planning and approval from the prime minister, which means the island's expansion is still tied to administrative steps outside the market's pace. The gap matters because the benefits are not confined to Phú Quốc alone: Hà Tiên, Rạch Giá, Hòn Sơn, Châu Đốc, Núi Sam, Núi Cấm and Trà Sư are all expected to pick up spillover if the island keeps pulling in foreign travelers.
An Giang is also trying to modernize the way it manages that demand. The province has deployed an integrated website system with virtual-reality video, online ticket purchasing and a mobile app, while introducing AI cameras to monitor visitor flow at tourist sites. It now has more than 1,150 accommodation establishments, nearly 40,000 rooms, more than 590 licensed tour guides and 143 licensed travel businesses, the kind of base that can absorb a stronger wave of travel if the current expansion holds through APEC 2027 and beyond.
For now, the clearest answer is that Phú Quốc is not just An Giang's biggest tourist draw. It is the province's main international gateway, and the question facing officials is whether the island's current surge can be translated into a more durable, better planned tourism model before the next big event arrives.
