A hotel city as the solution to APEC’s accommodation challenge

Experience from previous APEC summits shows that accommodation is consistently the most challenging issue. At the 2025 APEC Summit in Gyeongju, South Korea, shortages of rooms for more than 20,000 delegates and supporting personnel forced the host to adopt temporary measures, such as dispersing accommodation across multiple regions or using cruise ships.

These stopgap solutions had a tangible impact on both organisational quality and delegate experience.

Phú Quốc, the emerging global destination set to host APEC 2027, has experienced recurring 'sold-out' situations during peak tourism seasons. Việt Nam’s island destination is now tackling this challenge in a fundamentally different way.

Two mixed-use developments, Bai Dát Đỏ (Ruby Beach) and the Núi Ông Quán eco-tourism urban area, officially launched by Sun Group on January 2025, will together form a large-scale, fully integrated accommodation complex built to international standards.

Management will be undertaken by leading global hospitality groups, including Marriott International, Hilton, Accor, and Lotte.

The 'hotel city' at Ruby Beach is scheduled for completion in just 18 months.

Bãi Dát Đỏ (Ruby Beach) will serve as the island’s main reception and diplomatic gateway. The area will feature 6,500 five-star hotel rooms under 13 high-end brands, many of which are making their debut in Việt Nam.

Crucially, the hotel cluster will be adjacent to the APEC Convention and Exhibition Centre and along APEC Boulevard, transforming Bãi Dát Đỏ into a true 'hotel city' where accommodation, meetings, commerce, and public spaces are seamlessly integrated. This is a model rarely seen at previous APEC host destinations.

The Núi Ông Quán eco-tourism urban area will add 5,200 serviced apartments designed for long-term stays. These will cater to delegates, experts, international media, and high-end travellers, while also helping to ease the acute accommodation shortage Phú Quốc has faced in recent years.

Conference infrastructure designed with a post-APEC vision

Phú Quốc is developing a comprehensive suite of conference and event infrastructure, including the APEC Convention and Exhibition Centre, a multi-purpose performance venue, and APEC Park, with a total investment of 21.86 trillion VND.

The convention centre will feature a column-free ballroom spanning 81 metres, covering more than 11,050 square metres. This space will be capable of hosting events with tens of thousands of participants and is set to become the largest ballroom of its kind in the world.

The centre will also integrate a globally distinctive dinner-show space, where artistic performances and culinary experiences are combined into a single, immersive format.

Phú Quốc will feature a convention centre with an 81-metre column-free ballroom, ranking among the largest in the world.

The multi-purpose performance venue is envisioned as a hub for international-scale arts programmes, shows, festivals, and cultural and entertainment events.

Designed for maximum flexibility, it will meet the demands of APEC 2027 while continuing to operate effectively in the years that follow, forming the backbone of a high-calibre ecosystem for events, culture, and tourism on the island.

A comprehensive upgrade of air, sea and road infrastructure

In meetings with the National Committee for APEC 2027, Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính has urged Phú Quốc to plan a coastal ring road with a long-term vision, optimising development space and fully leveraging the island’s maritime advantages. This direction is tied to the implementation of the 'five transformations': greening, digitalisation, smart systems, optimisation, and harmonisation of interests.

The goal is to guide Phú Quốc towards becoming a modern, internationally integrated island city, connected not only domestically but also directly to the region and the world, with a 100-year outlook.

Phú Quốc International Airport is being expanded, with capacity set to reach approximately 20 million passengers per year from 2027.

Aligned with this vision, Phú Quốc’s transport infrastructure is being prepared in a coordinated manner across air, sea, and land, following the development logic of leading international service and tourism hubs such as Singapore and Dubai, where transport infrastructure is always built one step ahead to drive growth.

Phú Quốc International Airport is currently undergoing expansion to raise its capacity to around 20 million passengers per year from 2027. The upgrade incorporates advanced, world-leading technologies and will be capable of handling special aircraft, commercial flights, and international charters serving APEC.

The LRT line linking the airport with the APEC convention centre and the southern part of the island will serve APEC 2027 while laying the foundation for sustainable tourism development.

In parallel, the road network is being upgraded with large-scale boulevards, the DT 975 expanded to ten lanes, and a light rail transit line running alongside. This integrated system will reduce travel time between the airport, the convention centre, and accommodation areas to just 15 to 20 minutes, creating a fast, seamless, and environmentally friendly connectivity network.

The simultaneous launch and implementation of these projects carries significance beyond immediate timelines. It underscores the depth of preparation, proactivity, and willingness to exceed standard requirements that Phú Quốc is bringing to APEC 2027, an approach not all host destinations have achieved.

In many past host cities, conference-related infrastructure was built primarily to meet short-term needs, often relying on temporary solutions. As a result, post-event utilisation has sometimes been limited.

Phú Quốc, by contrast, has chosen a more fundamental approach. Large-scale hotel complexes, a convention and exhibition centre, and a fully integrated air, sea, and land transport system are being planned from the outset not only to serve APEC 2027 but also to form a strategic infrastructure platform for positioning Phú Quốc as an international centre for services, tourism, conferences, and trade in the post-APEC era.