Phu Quoc
Phu Quoc is a large up-and-coming holiday island in the Gulf of Thailand which falls under Vietnamese administration. Phu Quoc, in Kien Giang Province, is the largest island in Vietnam covering an area of 56 sq. km.
In the early 17th century, Phu Quoc was a desolate area, where Vietnamese and Chinese immigrants earned their living from sea cucumbers. It served as a French colonial rubber and coconut plantation and later as P.O.W detention camp of 40,000 inmates during the country’s long war.
Now however, with its UNESCO biosphere nature reserve occupying nearly 70 per cent of the island, average annual temperatures of 27 degrees, and range of virtually untouched beaches, Phu Quoc is reinventing itself as a tourism hub which, the government hopes, can eventually rival luminaries such as Phuket, Bali and Koh Samui.
Living in Phu Quoc
Life in sleepy Phu Quoc is about to change and according to government master plans the quiet fishing villages and near-empty beaches will be swamped with to a point comparable with Phuket by the year 2020. There are currently 68 accommodation options available to tourists but of these, just eight are star-rated with the rest targeting backpackers. When all the tourism developments are completed, yearly arrivals are forecast to hit between two and three million. The character of the island and the lifestyle of those living their will be transformed, but the good news is that progress will bring around US$771 million per annum to the local economy once the major works are completed. The expected rate of change can be judged by the fact that the island received just 100,000 visitors in 2006.
Buying Property in Phu Quoc
Phu Quoc is the archetypal up-and-coming region with development guaranteed to pick up rapidly over the coming years. It is still however, very much early days and although a flood of options are about to be made available there is not a huge amount of built options up for grabs at present. The options on the horizon however, are promising. There are some big corporations such as Saigontourist with Casino-Golf-Resort to be developed in an area of 209 hectares in the North of the island. Especially, Saigon Phu Quoc stock company with Sai Gon Phu Quoc ecological tourist resort the second with 18 hectares wide, 5-star standard beach resort and spa in Bai Sao (Sao beach), the most beautiful place of the island. More on buying property in Phu Quoc.
Condos in Phu Quoc
Phu Quoc is basically undeveloped at present, and there are not any condominium projects which people can buy into. Even with the massive amount of planned development on the way
More on buying condos in Phu Quoc.
Houses and land in Phu Quoc
The Vietnamese government recently announced that it was to allow permanent foreign residents and overseas Vietnamese to purchase houses on Phu Quoc as part of its vaunted island revamp. Since the Vietnamese government launched its drive to attract foreign investors, a total of 150 local and foreign companies have applied to invest on the island. Some 46 projects have been approved, most of which are houses, villas or tourist projects. More on buying houses and land in Phu Quoc.
Renovating in Phu Quoc property
The real estate industry on Phu Quoc has very much the feel of a party just about to get going and if the government’s plans come to fruition, the sky is the limit with regard to investment returns.
One pitfall is the fact that while the authorities have relaxed laws limiting ownership, they are still relatively restrictive.
Top tips for Phu Quoc property
Phu Quoc Property buyers guide
Guide to buying condos in Phu Quoc
Guide to buying houses and land in Phu Quoc
