Nov 22, 2021 Newsdesk Latest News, Rest of Asia, Top of the deck  
Corona Resort and Casino, on a holiday island in southern Vietnam, has been among the places visited by the first batch of international tourists to that country under a new “vaccine passport programme” by Vietnam’s government. The confirmation was given by the gaming venue in a social media post featuring photographs of the group.
Fully-vaccinated overseas visitors from select countries are now exempted from quarantine-on-arrival in Vietnam under the new scheme, it was announced by the country’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, last month.
Phu Quoc island welcomed the “first international tourists to Vietnam in the ‘new normal’ after nearly two years [of] frozen [business] due to the Covid-19 pandemic,” said a press release by Vietnam-based conglomerate Vingroup Group.
It added: “A Vietjet Air flight brought more than 200 Korean tourists to Phu Quoc to experience a five-day and four-night vacation at one-stop-destination Phu Quoc United Center.”
Corona Resort and Casino (pictured in a file photo) is one of the attractions of Phu Quoc United Center. The large-scale entertainment and leisure complex – promoted by Vinigroup – covers more than 1,000 hectares (2,471 acres) and includes a number of non-gaming facilities.
The Corona property, Vietnam’s first casino to allow economically-qualified locals to gamble, opened in January 2019. The country features other casino properties, but only holders of a foreign passport can place bets in those venues.
Vingroup said in its press release that the tourists out of South Korea would have to undergo quick Covid-19 tests on the first and last day of their vacation in the country. “With negative test results, they can visit, entertain, dine and shop in designated zones at Phu Quoc United Center,” it said.
The document added the group would be “exploring sport and entertainment activities at Vinpearl Golf, VinWonders theme park, Vinpearl Safari [and] Corona Casino.”
Vinigroup said the welcoming of the first group of tourists from South Korea was the “opening event for the vaccine passport pilot programme in Phu Quoc in particular and in Vietnam in general.”
The company added: “This is an important start marking an acceleration in efforts to recover the national tourism industry as well as national economic development.”
The release stated that, following arrival of the first group of international tourists on November 20, “Phu Quoc expects to receive 20 international flights per month in the upcoming time.”
Under Vietnam’s vaccine passport programme, inbound international visitors must make hotel reservations and join a tour group where all destinations are registered with the authorities.
Before the pandemic, Vietnam had been an emerging casino jurisdiction, with a number of large-scale, mostly foreigner-only resorts created along its lengthy coastline.
Jun 07, 2023
Jun 05, 2023
Jun 09, 2023
Jun 09, 2023
Jun 09, 2023
None of Macau’s six gaming concessionaires have so far applied for a form of “exemption” from the full 40-percent tax rate on casino gross gaming revenue (GGR), as potentially applicable...Jun 09, 2023
Commercial opportunities for utilisation of...Jun 08, 2023
Gaming content and equipment maker Konami says it is...Jun 07, 2023
Casino gaming content and hardware provider Light &...Jun 06, 2023
Electronic table games (ETGs) supplier Interblock dd is...Jun 05, 2023
Random number generator (RNG) testing tools are among the...Jun 01, 2023
Alfastreet, a manufacturer of electronic gaming machines,...Jun 01, 2023
Casino equipment maker Sega Sammy Creation Inc is tweaking...Jun 01, 2023
The iGaming segment in Asia “has grown rapidly” since...May 31, 2023
Showing slot machine players – via animations on the...May 31, 2023
Macau stocks in likelihood “have been punished too much...May 31, 2023
There are foreign companies still interested in investing...May 31, 2023
Thailand could pass the necessary enabling legislation for...May 30, 2023
China will remain a key market for Asian gaming...May 30, 2023
Alejandro Tengco (pictured in a file photo), chairman and...May 30, 2023
There are “plenty of reasons” for the global gaming...May 30, 2023
Gaming equipment provider International Game Technology Plc...May 30, 2023
The Global Gaming Expo (G2E) Asia 2023 Special Edition:...May 29, 2023
Austria-based gaming equipment maker and operator Novomatic...May 25, 2023
Sports betting and online casino operating platform...May 24, 2023
The business performance in Asia of gaming content and...May 18, 2023
The organisers of Global Gaming Expo (G2E) Asia 2023...May 17, 2023
Gaming content and equipment supplier Light & Wonder...May 16, 2023
Casino equipment maker Sega Sammy Creation Inc is to...May 09, 2023
Casino slot machine and digital gaming content provider...May 05, 2023
The Global Gaming Expo (G2E) Asia event in Singapore is the...May 04, 2023
An adviser to a Thailand parliamentary committee mulling...(Click here for more)
”We believe the intrinsic value of IGT’s market-leading businesses and diversified cash flow profile is not currently reflected in our stock price and the timing is right to assess opportunities that may enhance value for IGT’s shareholders”
Marco Sala
Executive chair of casino equipment supplier IGT