First chartered flight to take Russian tourists to Phu Quoc The first chartered flight with Russian tourists on board will land at Phu Quoc Island on Valentine’s Day, February 14, marking the start of an influx of Russian holidaymakers into this picturesque tropical island. During the Lunar New Year holiday, or Tet, Anh Duong Tourist Company and its foreign partner Pegas Touristik have sent staff to Phu Quoc to prepare for the welcoming of the Russian tourists. A Boeing 757 with a seating capacity of 200 passengers from the Russian city of Khabarovsk will land at Phu Quoc International Airport. Thereafter, there will be a chartered flight with Russian travelers on board coming to the island every 10 days. “This is a tentative schedule in the short run. The flight frequency can be raised when there are more tourists,” Hoang Thi Phong Thu, chairwoman of Anh Duong Tourist, said. Anh Duong and Pegas Touristik are joining hands to promote Phu Quoc as an ideal place for Russian tourists as international travelers are exempt from visa for up to 30 days in their visit to the island. Thu said Phu Quoc could be able to attract more Russian tourists if it had more hotels and offered better room rates. Her company planned to bring Russians to the island earlier but had to postpone the plan as hotel rooms are in short supply and room prices are around 30% higher than in other tourist attractions. “If room rates on Phu Quoc are the same as in Khanh Hoa and Binh Thuan provinces, more tourists could come to the island,” she said. “We may see a decline in room tariffs as a result of the island connecting to the national power grid. We have yet to hear any news about room rate adjustments.” Anh Duong and Pegas Touristik are also planning to bring Russian tourists to HCMC on chartered flights. This plan first surfaced more than a year ago. These two firms arrange tours for a majority of Russian visitors to Vietnam. All these travelers come on chartered flights via Cam Ranh airport. During Tet, they serve four chartered flights. SGT