Passengers wait at a train station in Phu Quoc to board high-speed boats to return to the mainland on September 5, 2023. Photo by Rooty Trip Phu Quoc
Boat and ferry services to Phu Quoc and nearby islands have resumed after nearly three days of suspension due to bad weather.
More than 10,000 tourists stranded in Phu Quoc returned to the mainland on Tuesday, according to the Kien Giang Province Maritime Port Authority.
Due to the impacts of Typhoon Saola which brought heavy rains and high waves, all boat and ferry services to Phu Quoc and neighboring islands were suspended on Saturday, leaving tourism activities inactive.
Phu Quoc is 120 km from Rach Gia and 45 km from Ha Tien. There are usually more than 30 high-speed boat trips from the two coastal towns to the island each day.
Besides Phu Quoc, the number of tourists stranded on other islands in Kien Giang has been estimated at around 2,000.
Truong An, a tour guide on Nam Du Island, said there were still heavy rains on Tuesday morning, but ships and boats were allowed to resume operations.
Most tourists stranded on Nam Du Island have returned to the mainland.
Tourists head to the ferry terminal on Nam Du Island to return to the mainland on Sept. 5, 2023. Video by Truong An
Nguyen Thien Lan, manager of a hotel in Phu Quoc, said the suspension of boat service had affected her business during the holidays.
Room occupancy at her hotel on Saturday only reached 40 percent and she lost a large number of guests from around Rach Gia, Ha Tien and Can Tho.
During the four-day National Day holiday that ended on Monday, more than 126,000 visitors came to Kien Giang province, down about a third from a year ago. Its average occupancy rate reached 27%, down from 43%.
Phu Quoc welcomed 62,000 visitors during the holiday, down 26.5%.