On the southern Vietnamese island of Phu Quoc, construction of a giant convention center for the 2027 APEC summit is underway. The total floor area is about 152,000 square meters. The building, four floors above ground and one below, incorporates an 11,050-square-meter column-free hall and a 2,000-seat theater, and the island known as a resort is about to transform into an international conference city. For Japanese travelers who came for the beaches and the over-sea cable car, this change is news that adds one more "reason to go to Phu Quoc next."
The giant wave-shaped facility, and what's inside
According to the rendering VnExpress released in June 2026, this facility's total floor area is 152,166 square meters. It consists of four floors above ground and one below. The design was handled by Sun Group, a major Vietnamese developer, and SOM (Skidmore, Owings & Merrill), a global architecture firm.
The exterior motif is the waves of Phu Quoc's sea. Using stone, metal, and terrazzo as main materials, it's pulled together with a quiet luxury that restrains excessive decoration. Rather than the flashiness common to resorts, its move to align with the dignity of an international conference in a calm tone catches the eye.
The building's core is a column-free 11,050-square-meter grand hall. No columns means you can freely arrange the layout. A general assembly of several thousand people, an exhibition packed with booths, or a banquet — all can be switched within a single space. It's equipped with over 30 meeting rooms, structured to run everything from bilateral talks to breakout sessions in parallel.
Why Phu Quoc, why 2027
Phu Quoc was chosen as the host of the 2027 APEC summit. It's Vietnam's third time serving as APEC chair, and a resort island being chosen as host is unusual. Not Hanoi, not Ho Chi Minh City, but a tourism island stands on the national stage. Vietnam's intent shows through here.
Phu Quoc has a weapon other cities don't. Foreigners and holders of Vietnamese-origin foreign passports can stay up to 30 days without a visa. Separate from the 45-day visa exemption the Vietnamese mainland sets for Japanese, an island-unit special measure applies. This system, letting each country's delegations and their entourages be welcomed without complicated procedures, is a big tailwind as an international conference host.
What SOM handled isn't the building alone. As a "vision plan" spanning about 78 hectares, it's redesigning the island's south coast itself. A boulevard forming the ceremonial flow, a park for outdoor events, and a new waterfront exceeding 2 km. The complex including the convention center is envisioned to hold up to about 15,000 people. Rather than building a box just for the conference, it's building a district that remains as an island asset even after the summit ends — that's the essence of this project.
Verified scale and features
News of large facilities easily lets numbers take on a life of their own. Here we list only items backed up by the main source.
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Total floor area | 152,166 square meters |
| Structure | Four floors above ground, one below |
| Column-free main hall | 11,050 square meters |
| Meeting rooms | Over 30 rooms |
| Theater (banquet-show venue) | 2,000 seats |
| Design | Sun Group ＋ SOM |
| Vision plan area | About 78 hectares |
| Complex's envisioned capacity | Up to about 15,000 people |
| Design motif | The waves of Phu Quoc's sea |
What's of note is the 2,000-seat theater. The idea of incorporating a banquet-show theater into a conference facility sets it apart from business-purpose box-building development. Handling the production is Dragone, which has handled large-scale live shows from a Belgium base. Advocating a multi-layered stage, the latest audio and lighting, and fusion with local culture, it suggests a design philosophy that completes even a "watching" experience between sessions.
Reactions from the industry and experts
Expert circles see this center as boosting Phu Quoc's international standing and becoming the catalyst turning the island into a large-scale MICE (meetings, incentive travel, conventions, exhibitions) destination. It's a picture where a separate evaluation axis of conference infrastructure is added to its fame as a resort.
The words from the Sun Group side are concrete too. Chairman Dang Minh Truong positions APEC 2027 as a "turning point emerging as a tourism and economic hub," seeing the summit not as a one-time event but as a pivot in the island's development model.
SOM, which handled the design, explains this project with the words "resilience and legacy." It's the idea of leaving it, even after the summit ends, as a district serving the long-term urban, economic, and environmental goals. The designer's will not to end it as a one-time ceremony venue shows here.
How will Japanese travelers' trips change
You may think, "What does talk of a conference facility have to do with my trip?" But becoming a MICE destination quietly raises the bar for leisure travelers' experiences too.
When chosen as an international conference host, infrastructure like lodging, dining, and transport is first raised to conference standards. The transfer routes and high-end lodging arranged to welcome each country's VIPs open to ordinary travelers as is once the summit ends. The waterfront promenade and outdoor parks are the same. Public spaces built for the conference become the island's stroll routes in normal times.
Dragone's theater looks set to be its symbol. Until now Phu Quoc's nighttime enjoyment meant the night market and the over-sea cable car, but authentic stage production is added here. The show polished for conference attendees will likely remain as a nighttime option for family and couple trips too. A day spent on the beach, a night spent at the theater — the very way of building the island's day may change.
Ripple effects on the tourism and MICE market
Phu Quoc is currently the only island in Vietnam where a special visa policy is laid out, and it has rapidly drawn attention as a MICE host these past few years. The visa special measure, ever-increasing activities, and high-level infrastructure — places with all three are limited even in Southeast Asia.
Of visitors to Vietnam, the MICE participants travel agencies handle account for 15 to 20 percent on average, and some operators are said to reach up to 60 percent in peak season. A person who visited for a conference extends their stay to the resort, and if satisfied, revisits bringing family or colleagues — precisely because it's an island where MICE and leisure are contiguous, the convention center functions as an entry point for drawing visitors.
For Japanese travelers too, this isn't unrelated. As a candidate for corporate incentive trips and training destinations, Phu Quoc's presence — easy to travel to visa-free — should keep increasing. An island learned through sightseeing becomes an island revisited for business someday. The reverse happens too. The flow of a single island holding both faces, resort and conference city, accelerates.
How to get to Phu Quoc and its highlights
As of 2026, no direct flights from Japan to Phu Quoc Island are operated. The general route is to transfer to a domestic flight in Ho Chi Minh City (Tan Son Nhat International Airport) or Hanoi, with a flight time of about one hour from Ho Chi Minh City. As for the visa, foreigners are exempt for up to 30 days on Phu Quoc Island.
The island's representative highlights are as follows.
- Phu Quoc National Park, where untouched nature remains
- VinWonders, gathering an amusement park and water park
- A night market with local casual eats
- The over-sea cable car, certified as a Guinness World Record at a total length of 7,899.9 meters
- Long Beach, about 20 km of white sand continuing on the west coast
Once the convention center is completed, a new way to enjoy it — "gazing at the modern architecture of an international conference city" — is added. The wave-mimicking exterior looks set to become a photo spot in itself.
Summary
A 152,000-square-meter floor area, a column-free grand hall, a 2,000-seat theater. The convention center rising on Phu Quoc isn't built just for the one-time APEC 2027 summit. It's designed to remain on the island even after the conference departs, functioning as a device connecting the two faces of resort and international conference city. An island known for its beaches and over-sea cable car evolves into a global MICE destination. When you next visit Phu Quoc, the options for that trip will likely have increased by one or two from now.
Frequently asked questions
Q. Can tourists tour the APEC 2027 convention center?
A. At present it's under construction, and no official guidance on public tours has been issued. The post-completion exterior is a wave-mimicking design, expected to become the island's new landmark. Confirm the latest information before traveling.
Q. How do I get to Phu Quoc Island from Japan?
A. As of 2026 there are no direct flights, and it's common to transfer to a domestic flight in Ho Chi Minh City or Hanoi. The flight time from Ho Chi Minh City to Phu Quoc is about one hour.
Q. Do I need a visa for Phu Quoc Island?
A. On Phu Quoc Island, foreigners are visa-exempt for up to 30 days. For sightseeing on the Vietnamese mainland, a separate 45-day visa-exemption system applies for Japanese nationals (the applicable period and conditions may change, so confirm before traveling).
Related reading
- Phu Quoc Surpasses Bali, Leaping to No. 2 Among Asia's Islands: Why
- Phu Quoc's six-generation fish sauce, wooden-barrel fermentation and European exports, now facing a succession crisis
- Sapa's Sky Walk Tops 10 Million Cumulative: A Decade of the Fansipan Cable Car
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