In early 2024, Phu Quoc was chosen as the venue for a super wedding of an Indian couple. Although not disclosing specifics, a source from VnExpress said that the amount of money they spent was "huge" as it included a 5-star resort and the Kiss of The Sea stage in the south of the island. The resort's highest room price is up to 160 million VND per night, while the stage has 5,000 seats, and the daily admission price is 1 million VND per guest.
Sharing with VnExpress, Mr. Huynh Quang Hung, Chairman of Phu Quoc City People's Committee, said that weddings of the super-rich and influential people will create a positive media effect on the pearl island's tourism image. In the past year, the city also organized promotional and advertising programs in India, to attract billionaires to come and organize weddings.
"Not only India, we aim to become a super wedding venue for billionaires from other countries," Mr. Hung said and revealed that there will be a super wedding of UAE billionaires held in Phu Quoc after Tet holiday.
The Kiss of The Sea stage was completely covered to hold the super Indian wedding on January 22. Photo: Sun Group
According to Mr. Hung, Phu Quoc meets the standards set by billionaires for weddings such as beautiful beaches and more than 30,000 hotel rooms, including 17,000 rooms in 5-star accommodation facilities. Pearl Island also has a great advantage when many large corporations invest in the field of tourism and services, especially in the south and north areas of the island.
In Phu Quoc, billionaires can find unique works in the world such as the Kissing Bridge. In addition, every night in the Mediterranean Town area, fireworks displays last 7-10 minutes. The southern area of the island also concentrates many big names in the world hotel industry, promising to have more high-class accommodation facilities. In the north of the island, Mr. Hung also appreciates many entertainment activities in theme parks, casinos, and golf courses.
"Billionaires will like and choose locations like that," Mr. Hung said.
Mr. John Paul Woolley, manager of JW Marriott Phu Quoc Emerald Bay Resort & Spa, said that in the past three months, the resort successfully organized three "super weddings" for Indian couples.
To do this, they have an experienced planning team that continuously hones their skills to create rich, bespoke experiences tailored to the specific preferences and needs of Indian customers. One of the important factors for a successful Indian "super wedding" is cuisine. Indian guests love cuisine and have diverse dietary requirements, requiring chefs to build a special, rich menu.
The architecture and brilliance of the resort are also factors that attract attention from this group of guests. Besides, the special location in the Bai Khem area with clear blue sea water and white sand beach brings a romantic atmosphere to the wedding party.
"Phu Quoc is emerging as an attractive beach tourism destination, completely different from other international destinations such as Bali, Phuket and domestic cities such as Da Nang and Nha Trang," he said.
The resort representative emphasized the unique charm of Phu Quoc that attracts couples and high-class families to organize weddings and other important events. The entertainment and entertainment ecosystem in the south of the island plays a big role in attracting India's super-rich - those who always want their weddings to be "so grand".
According to Mr. John Woolley, the Indian wedding tourism market will grow strongly in 2024.
Inside JW Marriott Phu Quoc. Photo: CnTraveler
Mr. Hoang Anh, who participated in organizing two super weddings, said these events bring great profits to those who know how to grasp them. When deciding to organize a super wedding, the bride and groom's families often cover the entire resort, meals, and additional services for them and their guests. However, guests do not only spend money at the resort but often choose to travel and explore the island after the wedding ends.
"They really like Phu Quoc's specialties and often buy them as gifts," Mr. Hoang Anh said, adding that the opportunity to access the source of customers is quite open because of the large number of customers, one unit cannot "bid for all".
However, Mr. Hoang Anh commented that Phu Quoc still has much to do to become a top wedding destination for the super-rich. He revealed that at a wedding the billionaire once held, the bride and groom requested to rent a helicopter but could not comply due to many objective factors such as landing area, procedures, and licenses.
Modern equipment and classic cars are what many couples request, but Phu Quoc has very few service providers. Classic cars serving the bridal procession are often brought from Ho Chi Minh City, causing costs to increase. The increased amount of money is "like a drop in the ocean" for this group of guests, but it may make them unhappy because Phu Quoc does not have enough professional services.
Mr. Vu Tien Van, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Adavigo, a tourism unit specializing in the Phu Quoc market, also said that the billionaire wedding market is rich in potential but in Vietnam has not yet been explored. Currently, Phu Quoc and other cities have only just laid the first bricks, and there are still many difficulties.
Mr. Van's unit is also researching this group of customers and realizing that there are still many gaps in general and professional knowledge. In fact, customers mainly still work through professional wedding organizers in Thailand or India first. After that, these units linked up with partners from Vietnam to coordinate preparations. In the latest "super wedding", the couple hired a wedding organizer from Thailand.
According to Mr. Van, to really penetrate this market, businesses need resources to connect and understand the market. In addition, there are not many super weddings taking place, so not many units dare to invest money in organizing services such as luxury car rental and modern equipment.
Indian couple at the wedding ceremony on the evening of January 22 in Sunset Town. Photo: Sun Group
"This story is like an egg or a chicken, requiring time to truly develop," Mr. Van said.
However, Adavigo's representative emphasized that Indian billionaire weddings will create a big impact for other Indian tourists coming to Phu Quoc. This is the potential customer group that the Vietnamese tourism industry is targeting to avoid dependence on the Chinese market. Mr. Van's business also recognized the great potential of this tourist stream when last year it organized to welcome many Indian delegations to Vietnam to travel, some with up to 500 guests.
In 2022, The Economist, a newspaper specializing in world finance, identified weddings as one of the largest industries in India, second only to energy, banking and insurance. The reason is that Indians value this holiday and are willing to spend "incredible" amounts of money, from 5,000 USD to 50,000 USD per day, depending on the scale. Some weddings last for weeks. Total spending on weddings in this country can be up to 130 billion USD.
Chairman of Phu Quoc City People's Committee said that it is necessary to further promote promotion and advertising to attract international visitors to Phu Quoc. This requires support from large investors and special policies from ministries and branches for Phu Quoc.
