This article examines the impacts of tourism in two of Viet Nam’s most popular destinations, Phu Quoc and Ha Long Bay. Increasing evidence suggests that Phu Quoc, Ha Long Bay, and several other sites in Viet Nam have reached the stagnation stage, with the potential for significant declines in high-paying international visitor arrivals. Photo: The “boom and bust” pattern proposed by Professor Richard Butler © Butler 1980Fifteen years ago, Phu Quoc was virtually untouched but has since been transformed by resorts, roads, and one of the world’s longest cable cars. Photo: A landfill in Cua Duong Commune in Phu Quoc Island off Vietnam's southern coast © VNExpressAs is so often the case, the question isn’t conservation vs. development, it’s high-quality development vs. poor-quality development. Tourism in Phu Quoc generates hundreds of millions of dollars a year in tax revenue.
