Mega-Infrastructure Unlocking MICE Tourism Potential
At midday in September, the expansion site of Phu Quoc International Airport hums with the roar of machinery. Thousands of engineers and workers are working around the clock, gradually bringing to life Terminal T2, designed in the shape of a "fire phoenix's" wings.
About 33,000 tons of steel — 4.7 times the amount used in the Eiffel Tower — is expected to go into the roof structure of Terminal T2 alone. The project has completed more than 95% of its reinforced concrete structure and is on track for completion in April 2027, opening the gateway to welcome high-level APEC delegations to Phu Quoc.
The APEC project cluster is being built at record speed. Photo: TDC
From the airport, a nearly 18-kilometer LRT line will carry delegations to the APEC Convention and Exhibition Center. The centerpiece of the venue is a column-free grand hall spanning 11,050 square meters. Once completed, it is expected to be the largest column-free ballroom in the world, surpassing Caesars Forum (about 10,220 square meters) in Las Vegas, USA — one of the icons of the global "convention capital."
Adjacent to it is a multi-purpose theater with more than 4,000 seats, roughly 50% larger than the Concert Hall, the largest auditorium at the Sydney Opera House. Even Cirque du Soleil — a name with more than four decades in artistic circus performance and annual revenue of up to US$1 billion — has already booked a show here.
A small corner of the billion-dollar hotel complex developed by Sun Group. Photo: TDC
About a 10-minute walk from the convention and performance complex is the Bai Dat Do hotel cluster. According to Nikkei Asia, Asia's leading economic newspaper, Sun Group is investing roughly US$2.5 billion in hotel and residential complexes in Phu Quoc, expected to add around 12,000 hotel rooms and serviced apartments managed and operated by top global brands.
"This supply is expected to meet accommodation demand during Phu Quoc's hosting of APEC 2027, while also adding capacity to serve conferences, exhibitions, and MICE tourism programs for many years afterward," Nikkei Asia commented.
The newspaper noted that, with a total of about US$5 billion invested in Phu Quoc during the current period, this boost is powerful enough to transform the Pearl Island from a beach tourism destination into an international hub for tourism, investment, and business events.
APEC — A Test of International MICE Organizing Capacity
Nikkei Asia's assessment of the APEC boost for Phu Quoc is further supported by earlier precedents. In 2017, the year Da Nang hosted APEC, the city welcomed about 6.6 million visitors, including 2.3 million international arrivals, with tourism revenue of more than VND 19 trillion. By 2025, those figures had risen to 17.3 million visitors, 7.6 million international arrivals, and about VND 60 trillion — roughly a threefold increase over eight years.
Tourist arrivals to Da Nang have continued to rise sharply since APEC 2017. Photo: Sun Group
Notably, in the first nine months of 2026, Da Nang welcomed nearly 200 MICE delegations, almost double Ho Chi Minh City's projected full-year figure. This segment of visitors spends significantly more — three to six times that of ordinary tourists.
Gyeongju, the city that hosted APEC 2025 in South Korea, offers an even clearer example of how a summit can be converted into a driver of MICE tourism.
During APEC week alone, international visitors' card spending in the city exceeded 3.2 billion won, up 210% year-on-year; hotel and accommodation spending alone topped 1.7 billion won, roughly triple the previous year's figure.
Just over six months after APEC, Gyeongju went on to host the 2026 Annual Conference of the Pacific Asia Travel Association. South Korea's Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism regards this as a successful follow-through from APEC, helping to reinforce Gyeongju's position as an international MICE and tourism hub.
For Phu Quoc, APEC 2027 is expected to carry the same significance. Its value lies not just in a few days of meetings, but in the ability to convert the infrastructure, organizational experience, and international standing gained from APEC into lasting MICE appeal.
Sunset Town lights up amid strings of street lights and a dazzling fireworks display. Photo: Sun Group
This vision is also part of the Pearl Island's broader development story. Resolution 26-NQ/TW sets a direction for building Phu Quoc into a high-quality services and eco-tourism hub, a national- and international-standard island tourism destination, and a new, regionally competitive growth pole.
To help realize this vision, Dr. Tran Du Lich, a former member of the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Group, argues that Phu Quoc needs to seize the opportunity presented by APEC 2027 — a MICE "mega-event." The summit will not only elevate the Pearl Island's tourism brand but also expand the scope for high-value tourism products such as resort and wellness tourism, health care, island culture, and the nighttime economy.
"This is the foundational step for Phu Quoc to accelerate, reach out to the world, and become a new symbol of Vietnam's development over the next 10 to 20 years," said Dr. Tran Du Lich.
In the end, APEC's legacy does not lie in a few days of meetings, but in what remains once the event concludes. If Phu Quoc can turn its emerging roads, terminals, convention centers, and service networks into the capacity to host events on an ongoing basis, the island will take on a new identity: not just a place people come to relax, but a place the world comes to meet, connect, and set out on new journeys.
