Abstract Amid the global shift toward sustainable and climate-resilient tourism development models, Phu Quoc, Vietnam’s sole island city, emerges as a strategic hub for high-quality ecotourism and resort tourism. This article analyzes Phu Quoc’s potential and prominent environmental-social challenges, employing an interdisciplinary approach that integrates ecotourism theory, ecological spatial planning, green economics, and community capacity. Through secondary data synthesis, field surveys, and SWOT analysis, the study identifies key challenges, including coral reef ecosystem degradation, coastal infrastructure overload, destination management deficiencies, and the absence of ecological carrying capacity - based zoning mechanisms. The findings propose an integrated solution framework, encompassing: the establishment of real-time environmental monitoring networks; the adoption of ecological capacity-based planning models; mandatory strategic environmental impact assessments and post-implementation audits; and the promotion of comanagement models involving authorities, businesses, and local communities. These recommendations provide a theoretical and practical foundation for restructuring Phu Quoc’s tourism development model, balancing resource conservation with sustainable socio-economic growth.
Quyet et al. (Mon,) studied this question.